History Repeats Itself
by gilthas
Summary: COMPLETE!When Harry defeated Voldemort, he lost everything. He became isolated, shunning his friends. Then his past caught up with him. Now he's back and changed, but the past isn't done with him and this time, what brought him back isn't quite so innocen
1. Halloween

History Repeats Itself  
  
A mere five days after Harry Potter's return from his haunting past, he finds himself desperately trying to make something he had been greatly lacking for 10 years since the defeat of Voldemort—a home. All he wants is to settle back, have some time to think, make amends with his old friends and maybe even find a few new ones. But fate isn't done with him yet...  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing. If I did, I would be a multimillionaire (which I'm not). If I do own something, believe me, you'll know. You'll know...  
  
~  
  
A/N: Hello all! It's the long awaited for sequel! This begins in future (now present) Harry's time and I think it would be prudent to clear a few things up. I tried very hard to stress that Harry would go back to his own time with his own people and with no new ones. Actually, it was more subtle hints. See, if Harry went back and found everyone alive, then he shouldn't have even existed! Then he never would have gone back and yadda, yadda, yadda. You know the rest. Messing with time is tricky business.  
  
Gilthas: Of course it is! Remember when Caramon brought Tasslehoff back in time and he wasn't supposed to because Tasslehoff was a kender and had the ability to change time and because of that time was changed and it had all those side effects and... *trails off*  
  
Me: Of course I remember! But odds are, most of the people reading this fanfiction will not remember because they have never read Dragonlance.  
  
Gilthas: *grumbles something*  
  
Me: Anyway, I'm terribly sorry if I disappoint anyone, but I couldn't do it! Besides, Harry would have been thrilled to go back through the portal if he knew all his friends would be alive and there would have been no sacrifice. I can't belittle Harry like that! He's been through so much and he's finally ready to go back and put it right again! I can't have anything too easy, can I?  
  
Gilthas: Er...yes?  
  
Me: Don't start that! You're my muse, remember, if the story sucks, it's your fault.  
  
Gilthas: Crap.  
  
Me: Yeah. Anyway, I just want to say sorry that it's taken so long to pull up. I honestly can't believe I'm even putting it out yet, but I don't think any harm can come of the first chapter. I've been doing a lot of cutting and pasting and I think I like the way the introductory chapter has turned out. So, if you like it, say so! If you don't, say so! I'm not picky really.  
  
Gilthas: I just want to point out that this is a sequel though I have tried hard—  
  
Me: —with my help—  
  
Gilthas: —to explain what happened in the last story.  
  
Me: Actually, it was more like I tried hard because I was the one actually writing and you were just watching over my shoulder, telling me to look for passive sentences!  
  
Gilthas: Which you didn't.  
  
Me: Yeah, so I bet everyone's just skipping this anyway, so I'll let you read the story now! Thanks to everyone who stuck with me! Oh, and at the end of the last story, Harry mysteriously shows up at Ron's Halloween party which he's been invited to for the last 10 years and has always refused to go to. Just to kind of fill you in. Now read!!!  
  
~  
  
If shame had a face, I think it would kinda look like mine.  
If it had a home it would be my eyes  
Would you believe me if I said I'm tired of this?  
Now here we go now one more time  
  
—Life House  
  
~  
  
Chapter One: Halloween  
  
The room was creepily quiet. The music blared unnaturally loud. Harry felt himself shrinking with so many eyes on him. He fought back the calm, the void that would block everything he had been working so hard to achieve.  
  
This wasn't right.  
  
They shouldn't be staring at him like this.  
  
Why didn't they look somewhere else?  
  
Why didn't someone say something?  
  
Harry fought back the urge to turn tail and run and by doing so, he suddenly felt a surge of annoyance. Why should he run when they were the ones in the wrong?  
  
He felt a hand grip his upper arm and he looked sharply to see Ron looking at him. Ron smiled encouragingly. He suddenly let go and looked around at the other people as though surprised to see them all there.  
  
"Why are you all just standing around?" He asked, managing a grin. "I think Ginny's making food in the kitchen."  
  
"Right enough," said a voice. "And you had better eat every bi—" Ginny Weasley walked into the room and froze when she saw Harry. The bowl she was stirring slipped from her grasp and fell to the ground with a crash. Her eyes were wide and wondering. "H—Harry?"  
  
Again the spotlight was on him. He had to do something! Everything in him told him to do something, that he was standing there like an idiot with everyone watching him, but his feet were rooted to the ground. Mobility wasn't exactly an option.  
  
Why had he even come? It was stupid! He should have come when there weren't so many people. And everyone was looking at him!  
  
Harry's hand found its way into his pocket and he found his wand. He gripped it hard—not even thinking of using it, but gaining some comfort in the fact that he had something to hold onto.  
  
"Maybe I," Harry began. His voice cracked. He winced and tried again, his voice stronger this time. Everyone seemed to be hanging onto his every word. "Maybe I should leave..."  
  
"No!" Ron said. He grabbed Harry's arm as though Harry was about to bolt at any second—which he was seriously considering. "Why should you leave? I sent you an invitation and everything! I want you here just like I want everyone else here!"  
  
Harry wished Ron wouldn't talk so loudly.  
  
He wished Ron would let go of his arm.  
  
He wished that the people would stop looking at him...  
  
He swallowed hard.  
  
"Food's in the kitchen," Ginny said suddenly and loudly. She pulled out her wand and Harry felt himself tensing in spit of himself. She waved it at the fallen bowl muttering, annoyed at herself, "Butter fingers..."  
  
The bowl reformed in her hand and the mess on the floor vanished with another wave.  
  
With the only obstacle—the spilt food—out of their way, the other guests moved to the kitchen, sneaking glances at Harry as they left. Ron and Ginny remained. There was a moment of silence.  
  
"Oh, Harry!" Ginny said suddenly. Setting the bowl on a nearby table she suddenly ran at him and caught him in a hug. "I'm so glad you're back!" she muttered into his shoulder.  
  
Harry felt distinctly self conscious. He suddenly wished quite a lot that he had waited to come back. That he had waited just a little longer...  
  
Ginny broke away, her eyes staring at him in wonder. "But why?"  
  
Harry shrugged, not liking their scrutiny. "Just felt like the right time," he muttered, knowing that he sounded stupid.  
  
"Well I'm glad," Ron said, clearly sensing Harry's discomfort. "Would you like to come have something to eat?"  
  
Harry took a step back. "I'm okay, really."  
  
"Don't be ridiculous, Ron!" Ginny said sharply. "He doesn't want to go in there with all those people! They have no manners!"  
  
"They're my coworkers!" Ron protested.  
  
"I rest my case," Ginny said, giving Ron a look. "Maybe he can go somewhere quieter. You know they'll just stare at him."  
  
Harry was looking between Ron and Ginny. He suddenly remembered just how tall Ron was.  
  
"Maybe I shouldn't have come," Harry muttered. "It was stupid. I probably just ruined your whole day. I didn't mean to—"  
  
"Don't be stupid," Ginny snapped good naturedly. "This is the one thing in the whole world that we've wanted more than anything else."  
  
"Why?" Harry asked, taken aback.  
  
"Harry!" Ron said exasperatedly. "What does that mean? You think it's been easy for us the last ten years, hearing about how you're still out there, all alone, single-mindedly hunting down Death Eaters? It would have made Mum cry!"  
  
Harry felt a jolt in his stomach and suddenly he found that he couldn't look at either of them.  
  
"That was horrible, Ron," Ginny said softly. "Harry's just now coming to terms with it..."  
  
"I'm fine," Harry snapped. He wasn't sure what it was, but suddenly he felt an overwhelming desire to be anywhere in the world but in the one place he was. He could feel the walls rising and for once he didn't fight back. "I'm perfectly fine."  
  
"Harry," Ginny said soothingly. "We didn't mean anything! Please don't be like that! We're thrilled to have you back! You have no idea how much we've been wanting this!"  
  
Harry took another step back, towards the door. He was shaking his head. It was hard to breathe. He had to get out of there or he would suffocate. He couldn't be there!  
  
"Harry!" Ginny practically yelled. "Stop!"  
  
Harry had turned around now and was heading toward the door. "I shouldn't have come," he said over his shoulder.  
  
"Harry!" Ron said loudly.  
  
"Please don't leave," Ginny said. Harry paused suddenly. He could hear tears in her voice. "Not again."  
  
"After all I've done," Harry said softly, not turning around. "You would forgive me so easily?"  
  
"There's nothing to forgive, mate," Ron said. "You never did anything to us! You've made yourself believe that you have, but never once, in all these years!"  
  
"You don't care at all?" Harry asked, turning slowly. "That I killed all those people?"  
  
"You didn't!" Ginny said.  
  
"It wasn't your fault that Voldemort had you marked out," Ron argued. "You did what you could!"  
  
"I certainly didn't do enough," Harry said quietly.  
  
"There's nothing more you could have done!" Ginny argued fiercely. "And I for one am getting a little tired of your pity fest!"  
  
"Ginny!" Ron hissed.  
  
Ginny pushed him away with a glare. "That's just about enough, Harry James Potter! I don't know who you think you are, but you're certainly not God! You've been forced to do more in a few years that any person should be forced to do in a lifetime! Now I know that you feel sorry for yourself, but at some point you have to move on!"  
  
"It's not that easy!" Harry found himself shouting. "Do you think that after all this time I can just walk in and say I'm sorry that I was such a jerk? I'm sorry that had a hand in killing all your families? I'm sorry for everything?"  
  
"Yes," Ginny said forcefully.  
  
"Well I can't," Harry said. "It's not that easy! It's never that easy!"  
  
"Because you're making it hard on yourself!" Ginny insisted. "You've known all along that we forgave you for what you claim to have done and we never blamed you for in the first place! Do you honestly think that we would invite you for every holiday if we hadn't?"  
  
"You don't know!" Harry snapped. "You don't have any idea what it was like! You couldn't possibly! How would you like to have witnessed first hand what the world could have been like but to know in your heart that soon it would all be gone? That you would have to come back?"  
  
"What are you talking about?" Ron asked.  
  
"It doesn't matter," Harry snapped. "Maybe I'll see you around."  
  
Harry pulled the door open and left Ron and Ginny standing there.  
  
He closed it hard behind him. He stood outside the door for a moment, breathing hard, knowing that he had just made a mess of things.  
  
The sky was crystal clear as he set out, walking, just trying to distance himself with no real place to be. He sent an angry glare upward as though mad at the sky for being clear when he was in such a foul mood.  
  
Finally he came to a stop and sank down onto a bench. He had found his way to a park, another peaceful place. He seemed to be finding his way to such places regularly though at the moment, he would have liked nothing better than to encounter 10 Death Eaters, all bent on ripping his guts out so that he might have had something to take his mind off what was happening to him. His life was so screwed up...  
  
Harry rested his head against the back of the bench and closed his eyes, mulling over everything that he had done. Why did he have an uncanny ability to mess things up? He had had his first chance to make things better again and he had royally screwed things up.  
  
He didn't realize that he was exhausted. Perhaps if he had known, he would never have closed his eyes. But like a lion pouncing on its prey, sleep claimed him on that little bench in the peaceful park.  
  
In his pocket, a small talisman began to glow...  
  
A/N: Yay! Absolutely nothing happened in the first chapter that's going to have a lot to do with the plot. Well, except for a few things that did.  
  
Gilthas: Yes.  
  
Me: Anyway, I want to thank sara*magic here really quickly for nagging at me constantly to put out the first chapter of the sequel. That's about it really.  
  
Gilthas: What about 3003? Are you just going to leave that hanging?  
  
Me: *looks disbelieving* You're kidding, right? If anything, I'm going to be exceptionally slow putting THIS one out! I've barely even finished the second chapter!  
  
Gilthas: Then why didn't you wait and post another chapter of 3003?  
  
Me: I...er...felt kind of like I was procrastinating with this one and people—not to say any names—like sara*magic have been bugging me for ages to put it out and I figured it was either now or never. Maybe this will give me more incentive to type up more chapters.  
  
Gilthas: If you weren't so busy reading that book about that drow elf, you might have time.  
  
Me: Drizzt? Drizzt rules!  
  
Gilthas: *glares*  
  
Me: He's not better than you, of course. You're my muse! And Drizzt's a little psycho...  
  
Drizzt: Hey!  
  
Gilthas: You're not allowed in here! Only I am! I'm her muse!  
  
Drizzt: Sorry. I heard my name.  
  
Gilthas: *grumbles* I bet you did...  
  
Me: Please review!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!! 


	2. Startling Realizations

A/N: Hello all! I know it's been forever since I updated this story so I thought I'd make it up to you by making it super long! It's approximately 20 pages so says my computer.  
  
Gilthas: Go you! So while you stink at soccer, you're still good enough to write a lot.  
  
Me: I resent that! I don't stink at soccer! I just...blew my knee out in the last game.  
  
Gilthas: *solemnly* It's a sign, telling you to write more.  
  
Me: I don't see what you're complaining about! I already finished writing 3003! I just haven't posted it all yet! You should be proud.  
  
Gilthas: I am! I just think your soccer playing is cutting into some serious writing time.  
  
Me: Whatever. Dang knee...  
  
~  
  
Chapter 2: Startling Realizations  
  
Now that I'm down on my knees, begging for a change  
Look down at the water,  
Before I jump in  
To find I was sinking fast, in all that might have been  
  
-The Calling  
  
~  
  
Harry opened his eyes blearily. Distantly the sounds of chirping birds reached his ears. The sight of trees met him and he was awake in an instant, jumping to his feet. He had a spell on the tip of his tongue before he realized what had happened.  
  
He had never slept that soundly in years and the first time it happened he happened to be asleep in a park!  
  
Harry rubbed his neck where he had been sleeping on it at an odd angle. He froze halfway through as the previous night's event came back to him and he got a leaden feeling in his stomach. He ran his fingers through his hair and tried to sort out what to do.  
  
He jammed his hands into his robes pockets and sat down on the bench again. He really didn't want to go back there-not after the mess he'd made last night. He rubbed his eyes wearily, suddenly aware that, in the absence of danger, he wasn't completely awake.  
  
His neck hurt and he was sure he hadn't moved once all night. Vaguely he wondered what time it was. He closed his eyes and attempted to stretch the pain out of his neck. He stopped and looked at the park around him.  
  
He hadn't seen it properly the night before, but he was surprised to see that instead of a bright display of different shades of red, it was a spring time green. A mother and two children walked by. The little girl was running ahead. She smiled and waved at Harry as she raced past. She couldn't have been more than five.  
  
Harry realized belatedly then that he was rather hungry. He ran his fingers through his hair and tried to decide what to do. No, he couldn't go back to Ron's house. He'd made a mess. Ron probably hated him.  
  
He would see if there were any restaurants he could buy something at. Sighing wearily, he stood up again, rather unsteadily. Shaking his head to clear it, Harry started off down the walk in the opposite direction the woman with her children had gone.  
  
He found himself in front of a small McDonalds and, already resigned to eating Muggle food, he walked inside.  
  
He drummed his fingers impatiently on the counter as he waited. It was not that he was feeling particularly impatient, but if he put up an act he would get his food faster.  
  
Quite suddenly he snatched his hand from off the table and jammed it into his robes pocket. That stupid habit! He couldn't seem to get around it! For the last ten years he had sunk deeper and deeper into his emotionless state, trying all the while to forget the past that would never leave him alone. But not five days ago he had come back from a long travel back in time that had shown him exactly what it was he was trying to hide from, what he could no longer set right, and what it was that he could.  
  
He was forced to keep concentration for long periods of time in which he was doing nothing to keep his mind from tuning out and his conscience from collapsing in upon itself.  
  
The woman behind the counter came up to where he was standing and positioned herself before the cash register.  
  
"Sorry about the wait," she said with a fake, plastic smile. "One of the new guys dropped a box of hamburger buns that we needed to clean up." Harry nodded. "Can I help you?"  
  
"Bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit," Harry said. It was one of those rare things that he found he liked that Muggles made especially well. "And a water."  
  
The woman nodded and took a very long time punching in the numbers, her index finger extended and her eyes roving the keyboard in search of the appropriate button. Finally she was done and she asked, with another smile. "Is that all?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"That will be $2.18, please." Harry dug into his robes pocket and supplied her with three dollars. She took an equally long time in counting out the change.  
  
She placed a tray down, ripped off Harry's receipt and set it on top. Harry moved to the side and waited. The woman's fakely cheerful voice asked the next customer, "May I help you?"  
  
Harry sighed as he waited for his food. If everyone at this place worked as slow as the woman had, he would stand there for years without ever getting his food. Slight exaggeration.  
  
When his food finally came, it was cold. Harry didn't say anything. He would heat it up when no one was looking. They had, however, forgotten his water and he was quite thirsty after all night in that park.  
  
"Excuse me," Harry tried. The woman smiled at him, telling him without words to continue. "I think you forgot my water."  
  
The woman nodded. She reached under the counter and produced a cup. This did not seem to be good enough, however, because she quickly replaced it and felt around for a different one. "I think we're out," she said. "I'll have to check the back room."  
  
"What's wrong with that cup?" Harry asked, feeling rather as though he were talking to a dimwit.  
  
"That's a carbonated beverage cup," she said as though this explained everything.  
  
"What's the difference?"  
  
"It's not a water cup."  
  
"I don't see why it should matter. A cup is a cup. Both hold liquid and that it all I want to use it for."  
  
"I'll see if I can get you a cup from the back room," the woman said, a smile still on her face.  
  
"I can just use that cup," Harry said impatiently.  
  
"That's not a water cup, sir," she said. "I'll only be a minute." She quickly retreated into the back room. The customers still waiting in line sent him some angry glared for making their server go away. Harry ignored them.  
  
The woman appeared quite soon. "I'm afraid we're out," she said, frowning a little to herself. "We're supposed to get a shipment in at noon..."  
  
"I can just use that cup," Harry repeated, annoyed.  
  
The woman hesitated as though giving Harry that cup went against everything she knew and had ever been taught. Finally she sighed resignedly and handed Harry the cup. Harry accepted it without a word of thanks.  
  
All things considered, Harry was in something of a foul moon when he was finally able to eat his food and he didn't even bother heating up his food. It didn't really matter. Besides, he was still trying to get used to everything. It had been only five days in his time that he had finally begun eating real food again. Previously he had simply drank a potion in the morning to keep him awake after generally restless nights and whatever was handy in the afternoon without getting really extracurricular with it.  
  
Harry forced his thoughts back to the present. It was no use dwelling on things. He had enough on his plate to think about without having to rethink everything he'd already done. Like Ron for example.  
  
Harry sighed as his thoughts inevitably turned to his old friend. He was just trying to come up with something to say to him when he heard a voice behind him that struck something of a familiar chord.  
  
Harry froze. Quick as lightning a hood appeared over his head, hiding his face. He may be trying to open up a little more, but he wasn't brave enough to go anywhere without his cloak.  
  
He knew instantly that he wasn't going to be able to stand up and casually leave the building. He was wearing his full length wizards' robes as he had been when he arrived at Ron's house. He had already been receiving some odd looks.  
  
Harry's heart beat faster as his mind wrapped itself around the situation. At times his survival instincts kicked in before his brain did. He was being ridiculous. The person couldn't be here! He was dead!  
  
His curiosity getting the better of him, Harry slowly looked around, trying to look casual.  
  
Instantly he jerked his head back around. So it was him. But that was completely absurd! He was dead.  
  
Still, there was no denying that that man was indeed the werewolf friend that had died ten years ago. Harry almost felt sick. But that would mean things had changed in his time and, for some reason, he was still fighting with Ron and Ginny!  
  
But that couldn't be right, Harry reflected. Ron had said something about Harry being missing for all those years. It was the same Ron and the same time he had left.  
  
Harry wasn't sure if he was relieved or disappointed.  
  
Still, that didn't explain the sudden appearance of a man that Harry knew for a fact was dead.  
  
Harry heard Remus thank the woman for his food and knew that he would have to act soon. He was facing the door and doubtlessly Remus would see him, whether he stayed to eat or he left to go.  
  
Harry needed to get out of there. He considered Apparating, but he couldn't without the Muggles around him noticing and then calling Remus's attention on him. He was stuck.  
  
Remus walked directly by his table with a small bag in his hands that was clearly his McDonald's food. He didn't even glance at Harry. He was frowning slightly and he had the look about him that suggested he wasn't thinking about what he was doing at all.  
  
Harry didn't question his good luck. Remus pushed open the door and left the building. Harry stood up and, forgetting completely about the food he was leaving on the table, followed silently.  
  
Remus walked down the apparently quite familiar streets without really noticing what he was doing, stopping at all the right places as though it was habit and required no conscious thought. He wondered for a moment just how long Remus had been walking that same street without Harry noticing him being alive.  
  
Harry stayed far back from his formerly dead friend and tried to sort everything out without calling attention to himself. Unfortunately, he was getting some looks from the Muggles because of his robes. He found he didn't care.  
  
Remus took a turn and Harry followed silently down the small alley.  
  
He was gone.  
  
Cursing, Harry turned sharply to leave the alley when he heard quick footsteps behind him along with the more familiar beginnings of a spell. Harry dodged to the side and the spell flew harmlessly past. He was on his feet in an instant, he wand out, when his hood slipped from his head and Remus saw who it was.  
  
"Jesus, Harry!" Remus said, stuffing his wand back in his pocket. "I thought you were a Death Eater! You could have said something!"  
  
Harry slowly lowered his wand, watching Remus warily. "Indeed," was all he said.  
  
Remus hurried over to him. "Are you okay? Sirius is going to kill me if he finds out I attacked you in an alley!"  
  
Harry's mind was reeling. "Sirius?" he said, before he thought.  
  
"I was going to meet him," Remus explained. He seemed very put out that he had attacked Harry. Suddenly he paused. "There's something different about you."  
  
"Really?" Harry said sarcastically. "And I suppose I'm the one at fault even though you've been dead for years."  
  
"What are you..." Comprehension dawned on Remus's face. "You're not Harry, are you?"  
  
"What are you on about?" Harry asked, his anger rising. "Who do you think I am, Mary Poppins?"  
  
Remus didn't appear to be listening. He turned away, running his hand through his graying hair, muttering something under his breath. Suddenly he turned back to Harry. "So you've come back to do...what? Is it about the Death Eaters?"  
  
"What Death Eaters?" Harry asked, suddenly on his guard. "There are no real Death Eaters left out of Azkaban."  
  
Remus was studying him hard. "You're Harry, right? The other Harry?"  
  
Harry couldn't, for the life of him, figure out what Remus was talking about. He suddenly popped out of the blue talking as though Voldemort hadn't been gone for 10 years! He...the light clicked on in his head. "The other Harry..." he repeated. "You mean this...what year is this? How long has it been since I defeated Voldemort?"  
  
"Five years," Remus said, nodding at the look on Harry face when he heard the words. "I thought so. So you've come back to help us fight the Death Eaters?"  
  
"I hadn't known that I had come back at all," Harry said coldly. "Apparently now I do this without thinking."  
  
Remus looked at him pensively. "Indeed. So no portal this time?"  
  
Harry shook his head. The last time he had taken his little 'trip', he had been chasing down the Death Eaters who had summoned a portal in order to let them go back in time in order to help Voldemort in his fight and perhaps stop Harry from defeating him completely. Harry had taken care of the Death Eaters easily but when he was forced to turn his undivided attention onto the portal to close it, the leader of the Death Eater gang had hit him in the back with a stunner, sending him through the portal and into the past.  
  
Remus frowned thoughtfully before shaking his head quickly. "I don't have time. You're going to have to lie low at my house until we can get this sorted out. It's only a little ways away. I have to meet Sirius now and I think I should be the one to tell him that you're back."  
  
Harry shrugged unconcernedly.  
  
Remus nodded and motioned for Harry to follow him. Clearly his house was not very far because they had only gone about two blocks when Remus led him up a walk. Remus pulled out a key chain and began trying to find the correct one. Harry couldn't tell how he kept them straight. They all looked the same to him.  
  
Not wanting to wait any longer than he had to, Harry grabbed the doorknob and, with a silent command of the magic, gave it a twist, unlocking it instantly so that anyone looking on would simply think the door had been unlocked in the first place.  
  
The corners of Remus's mouth turned downward somewhat though he said nothing. Harry pushed the door open before him and they both entered.  
  
"I suppose it's useless to tell you that you stand out in your robes on a Muggle street and suggest you change them," Remus said, in something of a professor voice. Harry smirked at him and raised his eyebrows. "I didn't think so," Remus said, shaking his head.  
  
Harry looked around the familiar house. He had been in it only twice before, both under rather unpleasant circumstances. Once he had been deathly ill from a curse Voldemort had placed on him and the second time had been the last time he had ventured back in time to save his younger self from a different disease at the same time that Voldemort had concocted when he saw that Harry had defeated his first one.  
  
All in all he wasn't keen on staying the house with such memories, but he would humor Remus if it would make him go away.  
  
"I have to go to Sirius now," Remus said, checking his watch. "I'll have to Apparate. I don't like to, but he'll think something has happened if I show up late."  
  
"And I suppose I'm nothing," Harry muttered under his breath. Remus's keen hearing picked it up easily. He smiled slightly. "You're something good."  
  
Harry frowned. "What exactly is happening to make such precautions necessary?"  
  
"I'll tell you about it later," Remus said. "I have to leave now. Don't leave, Harry." He looked very seriously at the younger man. "I need to tell you a few things before you go barging out."  
  
Harry nodded.  
  
Satisfied, Remus grabbed his 'To go' McDonalds bag and, grabbing his wand, Apparated.  
  
Harry shook his head when he was gone. He might need a few things explained, but he wasn't a child. He didn't have to wait around for Remus to tell him what he thought ought to be told. He would find it out himself.  
  
He scribbled a hurried note to Remus that he felt explained everything and left, locking the door behind him.  
  
* * *  
  
"Sirius!" Remus said.  
  
Sirius looked up from his food, a grin already spreading its way across his face. It stopped abruptly when he saw the expression on Remus's face.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"This is more serious than we thought," Remus said, seating himself across from his friend. He set a McDonalds bag in front of him but did not open it.  
  
Sirius lowered his voice. "The Death Eaters?"  
  
"What else?" Remus asked, his voice equally quiet. "Another player's come in."  
  
"Lucius," Sirius said. Just saying the name made his stomach plummet. He had been worried this would happen. He paused when he saw Remus shake his head.  
  
"Someone on our side."  
  
"Who?" Sirius asked eagerly. "You've somehow managed to convince Harry?"  
  
"Ironically," Remus said with a thoughtful look on his face. "Yes."  
  
* * *  
  
"Where is he?" Sirius asked. Remus fumbled for his house key in his hast. Impatiently, Sirius pulled out his wand and unlocked it magically muttering, "Never understood why you put up with that Muggle crap."  
  
"Harry?" Remus called loudly. There was no answer. He yelled again to the same effect.  
  
"Remus?" Sirius yelled. He was in the kitchen. Remus hurried in.  
  
"He left a bloody note," Sirius said with a hint of anger in his voice. "Look at this." He thrust the paper at Remus.  
  
Remus read it and instantly realized that this wasn't go to be similar to last time-it would be exactly like last time:  
  
How patient do you think I am?  
  
--Harry  
  
* * *  
  
Harry wasn't one hundred percent sure where to start. When he stepped out Lupin's door, he wasn't even sure whether to turn right or left, but his instinct said 'away from McDonalds' and that's where he went. It was a left, by the way.  
  
Harry frowned as he tried to remember Remus's words. He had said something about Death Eaters. So that's where he should go.  
  
There was only one place to look to find out everything he needed to know about Death Eater action. He waved his hand.  
  
Harry found himself in the Entrance Hall of his old school. As Hermione would no doubt tell you, you could not Apparate or Disapparate on the Hogwarts grounds, but Harry wasn't Disapparating. He had learned a long time ago that being limited to Apparition could quickly get you killed. He had learned a new spell that actually broke down his molecular structure, transported him to his chosen destination, and rearranged the molecules. It was slightly slower than Apparition, but he was able to take others along with him as well.  
  
Fortunately the place was deserted. Harry thought vaguely that he might have checked the date before going straight there to ensure no students would be there. He didn't put a lot of thought into it though. No one was there so it didn't matter.  
  
Deciding he knew exactly who he should go to, he made his way to the Transfiguration corridor. He didn't bother to knock on the door. He pushed it out of the way and found an annoyed McGonagall looking in his direction.  
  
"You might have knocked, Potter," she said.  
  
"Indeed," Harry said. "I need information."  
  
McGonagall's eyes narrowed. "You have decided to help?"  
  
"Let's cut to the chase," Harry said, seating himself casually in front of the woman's desk. "Perhaps we can get over the shock before it gets annoying. Do you remember how...how many was it? Oh yes, five years ago I defeated Voldemort?"  
  
"That's not something one easily forgets," McGonagall said, looking at him suspiciously.  
  
"Remember how myself from the future came in and helped me out so everyone didn't die?"  
  
McGonagall straightened up. "How did you know-"  
  
"Because I'm him and for some unknown reason I'm back to this stupid time all over again and Lupin wouldn't tell me a thing so I decided to work it out for myself."  
  
McGonagall was clearly taken aback. "Welcome back, Mr. Potter-"  
  
Harry waved his hand impatiently. "Doesn't matter. All I need to know is what's going on?"  
  
McGonagall pursed her lips. "It would appear as if five years did your manners little good."  
  
"Try five days," Harry said, wincing when his words didn't come out quite as forcefully as he had intended. "Five days." He sighed. "And I'm already back."  
  
"I thought the last time you came you preferred to go back to your own time as opposed to stay and help."  
  
Harry felt himself growing rather angry. "Who cares? Are you going to tell me what's going on or am I going to be forced to ask the Muggles?"  
  
There was a knock on the door and it was pushed open. A bushy brown head poked in. Hermione Granger's face brightened instantly when it landed on Harry. "Harry! It's great to see you! How have you been?"  
  
Harry found that he could not speak. His throat seemed to have closed in. It was taking all he could to keep his expression steady and he knew that if he said anything, all that would come out was a squeak. Hermione...  
  
"Harry?" Hermione asked, coming completely into the room. "Are you okay?"  
  
Harry was suddenly annoyed at himself for letting himself be distracted by her. "Fine," he said tightly.  
  
Hermione looked rather hurt. "Did I do something?"  
  
Harry shook his head, a little too hastily. McGonagall stood. "Miss Granger, I presume you know Mr. Potter?"  
  
Harry's head snapped over to the older woman but her eyes did not meet his. They were staring hard at Hermione.  
  
Hermione was looking terrible confused. "Of course. I grew up with him."  
  
"Indeed," McGonagall said.  
  
Hermione was looking from McGonagall to Harry. Her eyes narrowed. "I'm not stupid, you know. I know there's something you're not telling me."  
  
"Are we?" Harry said.  
  
Hermione's eyes landed on him and Harry felt himself go stiff. He had only seen her days ago, but it seemed like years. It was years.  
  
"I think perhaps that you already know the secret," McGonagall said. "But I suppose he's never formally introduced himself."  
  
"That's enough!" Harry said angrily. He whirled on McGonagall. "If you're going to tell everyone, then why not just place up a bulletin?"  
  
"Polyjuice?" Hermione guessed.  
  
Harry snorted. "Hardly. I came for answers and it would appear that I'm not going to get any."  
  
"I can help," Hermione offered. "But you're definitely not Harry. Is it a glammer charm?"  
  
"Leave it!" Harry snapped. "I don't have time for this. You!" He turned to McGonagall. "Keep your mouth shut!"  
  
McGonagall's expression did not change though Hermione looked highly affronted. "She already knows," McGonagall said coolly. "And she of all people has a right."  
  
"No one has the right!" Harry shouted. He did not know why he was so angry. Maybe because it was because Hermione was just standing there. "You only know by accident! I don't even know why I came!"  
  
Harry turned and made to leave the room, but Hermione, looking rather shocked and angry at Harry's attitude, grabbed his arm.  
  
~Flash~  
  
Harry fell to the ground thoroughly exhausted. He could lie there forever. He didn't want to get up. His muscles ached. Dozens of Cruciatus Curses lost there effect as Harry threatened to loose consciousness.  
  
He struggled to his feet. He couldn't quit now. Too much lay on the line.  
  
Voldemort too looked a mess. He no longer smiled. His red eyes had lost their red glow and seemed now a dim shadow of their old selves. He was bad. Harry was worse.  
  
Voldemort raised his wand again. Harry took a step back. His leg would no longer support his weight. His knees crumpled beneath him. It was all too much...  
  
From a long way off, Harry heard Voldemort shout the words to a spell. Sweet oblivion engulfed him.  
  
The pain vanished. Nothing hurt. The world seemed perfect.  
  
Kill the girl... said a voice in his head.  
  
Harry picked up his wand and prepared to obey.  
  
No! Screamed the voice in his head. Stop! But it sounded weak, too weak to make much of an effort. No...  
  
Harry obediently pointed his wand at the girl.  
  
"No, Harry! I know this isn't you! You have to fight it! No!"  
  
That voice. It sounded strangely familiar. Harry hesitated a second. You know her, the voice said, making a last, valiant effort. You know her! You can't kill her!  
  
Kill the girl...  
  
Harry raised his wand. The voice quieted. Nothing remained. Nothing...  
  
"Avada Kedavra!"  
  
A scream pierced the night.  
  
~Flash~  
  
He was back in McGonagall's room. Hermione had jerked her hand away. Her eyes were wide, staring at him. "It-It's you."  
  
Harry jerked his cloak over his shoulder with a snarl. "Get away from me."  
  
He left the room at a quick walk. Hermione followed him, right at his heals. "You're the person from the field that night! I remember! You told me to stay with Harry and make sure he was okay because you were going to get help! I remember but no one ever explain it to me!"  
  
"Good for them," Harry said. He was walking quickly, trying to loose Hermione behind him, but at the same time not wanting to.  
  
"You're from some alternate time, aren't you?" Hermione guessed.  
  
"Excellent observation, Sherlock," Harry muttered. "Perhaps next time you can explain to me how to use a Muggle telephone."  
  
"Did you grow up with Muggles?" Hermione asked, not catching Harry's sarcasm.  
  
Harry stopped and turned to her, an incredulous expression on his face. "Just how much do you think my dimension differs from your own?"  
  
Hermione shrugged. "Our Harry grew up with Muggles. He went to live with Sirius after that."  
  
"And who," Harry said through gritted teeth. "Do you think brought Sirius back in the first place?"  
  
"That was you!" Hermione said. "Sirius never told anyone, of course, but I figured it out without too much trouble."  
  
"I grew up with Muggles!" Harry snapped. "The only difference between your Harry's battle with Voldemort and my battle with Voldemort is that your Harry had my help in his!"  
  
"That's not true!" Hermione said. "I was there, remember?"  
  
"You were just there both times," Harry said angrily. "Did not the exact thing happen in my version as your version? Who do you think distracted Voldemort long enough for your Harry to fight through the Imperious Curse?"  
  
Harry could practically see the clocks working in Hermione's head.  
  
"Yeah," Harry said. He started walking again. He didn't want Hermione to follow. It was painful just to look at her. Hermione hurried to keep up. Harry felt anger rising in him. What didn't she understand?  
  
"Okay," Hermione said. She seemed to have lost some of her bluster. "You've answered my questions. Now I'll answer yours. What did you want to know?"  
  
Harry stopped again, trying to push past his rising anger, and looked at her. "You'll actually answer them?"  
  
Hermione shrugged. "Can't see the harm."  
  
Harry shook his head. "Never mind. It wouldn't work." He couldn't stay in her presence. It couldn't possibly work. Not in a millioon year. He started walking again.  
  
"Why not?" Hermione persisted.  
  
Harry cracked. He stopped yet again, his expression furious. Hermione back away. "HAVEN'T YOU FIGURED IT OUT YET? YOU SAW EVERYTHING, DIDN'T YOU? YOU'RE DEAD! COMPLETELY AND TOTALLY DEAD! DEAD AS A DOORNAIL! DEAD AS...AS SOME OTHER DEAD THING! YOU THINK I CAN JUST SIT IN THE SAME ROOM AS YOU AFTER I KILLED YOU WITH MY OWN WAND?"  
  
Hermione looked very taken aback. "I-I'm dead?"  
  
Harry threw his hands up in complete annoyance and stalked away. Again, Hermione hurried to keep up. "I-I'm sorry," she stammered. "I guess it didn't register. I didn't know..."  
  
"Well now you do," Harry said through gritted teeth. He looked around at the school. "And what month is it anyway? Aren't kids supposed to come to school?"  
  
"It's summer," Hermione said.  
  
"Whatever," Harry said. He turned sharply. "I hate this place," he muttered.  
  
Hermione frowned. "But everyone likes Hogwarts."  
  
"Not me," Harry said.  
  
"My office is right up here," Hermione said. "I had just made tea when I went to talk to Minerva. Do you want to come in?"  
  
He wanted to say no. He wanted to leave and never come back, never again be forced to see the face of the person he had betrayed, the person he had killed. His mind screamed to run, to tell her no, to yell at her until she went away, anything to stop those memories every time he saw her face...  
  
"Okay," his voice said, working seperately from his mind. He couldn't believe he was doing this. He would crack, make an idiot of himself in front of her and she would never be able to look at him again. He didn't know whether that thought, or the thought of never seeing her again was more painful.  
  
Hermione looked slightly more cheerful that he had accepted as she led him down the next hall and into her office. Harry sat silently, looking around the room as Hermione busied herself pouring tea.  
  
"Milk?" she asked.  
  
"No thanks."  
  
"Sugar?"  
  
"None."  
  
Hermione looked at him quizzically as she placed his cup of pure tea in front of him. He nodded rather stiffly in thanks and took a drink.  
  
Hermione sipped her tea and looked at him. "So ask," she said finally.  
  
"About what?"  
  
"About what you came here to ask."  
  
Harry sighed. "Lupin mentioned something about Death Eaters."  
  
Hermione nodded. "They're up to something. There have been attacks recently on people." Suddenly she shivered. "We have people inside, watching their movements, but still they act randomly. There's probably a lot of thought put into it, but by the time our spies find out about it, it's already been put into motion. I think Malfoy knows we've got spies so he's being particularly sneaky."  
  
Harry nearly chocked on his tea. "Malfoy? I thought I beat him up and stole his memory!"  
  
It was Hermione's turn to be surprised. "That was you? I suppose it must have been. But no, it's Draco, not Lucius we're worried about."  
  
Harry shook his head, unsurprised. "That little rat's the one who sent me back in time in the first place with a spell in the back."  
  
Hermione managed something of a forced smile.  
  
"Wait a minute," Harry said. "Where is my other self in all this?"  
  
The smile was gone in an instant. Hermione looked suddenly sad. "Living with Sirius. You don't get out much. The press would be on you in an instant if you did. Harry has...Harry has lost his will, I think. He wants someone else to worry about the Death Eaters so he can do something else. The problem is, he's the strongest we've got and he's about the only one with a chance to stand up to them."  
  
Harry swore. "That stupid little git," he muttered. "Knew I shouldn't have done anything."  
  
Hermione looked slightly amused. "He's had it hard, you understand."  
  
"No, I don't!" Harry said forcefully. "I had it worse then him! He didn't have it half as tough as I had it!"  
  
Hermione was slightly taken aback by his outburst. "I--I'm not sure what happened in your time."  
  
Harry waved it away. "Not that interesting." He felt a pang, even as he said it, remembering his last encounter with his two remaining friends. "So where's Sirius in all this?"  
  
Hermione shook her head sadly. "Doing the best he can. He's hinted that he wants Harry's help once in a while, but last time Harry blew up in his face when he asked, saying he'd already done his share and that all he wanted was to not worry about Death Eaters." Hermione sighed. "I just don't understand him anymore."  
  
Harry was inwardly fuming though he tried not to show it on his face. What did the little prick think he was doing? He had never let something like this happen! He'd fought Death Eaters for the past ten years and there were so few left that even if the remaining Death Eaters gathered their full strength, the most they would be able to do was pick up trash on the side of the highway.  
  
But could he honestly say that, given the choice, he would choose the life he had now over this one? That was a no-brainer he if he'd ever heard of one.  
  
Harry cast his mind around. "What are the Death Eaters trying to accomplish, exactly?"  
  
Hermione shook her head wearily. "No idea. Causing mayhem I suppose. For some reason, though, they're gathering something of a large force of supporters." She lowered her voice slightly. "Even the goblins are thinking of going over, though that's supposed to be classified."  
  
Harry mind was spinning quickly around the information. The goblins? "Who else do they have?"  
  
"The usual," Hermione said. "Giants, the few remaining dementors, some scared people who reckon they'll rival Voldemort." She gave a laugh but Harry didn't have to listen hard to hear it was forced. "We're just not sure what to do," Hermione admitted. "I mean, last time, we had Dumbledore. After he died, the whole Order would have been sunk in less than a year if Voldemort hadn't been defeated. Everyone's waiting on Harry to do something, but he won't! He's got it in him to be great, as good as Dumbledore if not better. I mean, look at you! No one's told me anything specific, but I've put a couple of things together. Unfortunately, this Harry doesn't seem quite as...dedicated."  
  
Harry nodded, soaking it all in. He finished the last of his tea and absentmindedly swirled the dregs in his cup. Then he placed it upside down on his saucer.  
  
He leaned back in his chair, thinking. "I suppose it's better," he said at last. "Mind you, I wouldn't have said the same thing last year around this time, but at least he didn't turn out like me."  
  
Hermione seemed rather taken aback that he'd spoke so bluntly. "I don't think you're that bad."  
  
Harry let out a bark of laughter. "I thank you for the compliment, but had you met me the last time I made this little trek, you might have thought rather differently. Still," he paused thoughtfully. "You would think I would do something..."  
  
They were quite for a moment. Finally Hermione stood up and said, "More tea?"  
  
Harry nodded without thinking and picked up his over turned cup. He snorted when he saw the symbol the tea leaves had made, rather close to the rim. It was, undeniably, a mountain. There was a large peak and a small peak and there was even the faintest line between the dregs that could have been the dividing line for snow at the top.  
  
"What is it?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Stupid thing," Harry said, shaking his head, "A mountain. Means a journey's coming."  
  
"Or a hindrance," Hermione said vaguely. Harry looked at her, surprised. She smiled slightly. "Oh, I don't believe a word of it, but after an argument with the Divination professor, I realized that I didn't know enough to properly argue my points and learned a bit more. More than I meant to, actually."  
  
"And what do you teach?" Harry asked, realizing he didn't know. A small smile flashed across Hermione's face. "Potions."  
  
Harry nodded. At the end of his previous visit, Snape had died in the final battle for Hogwarts. "I see McGonagall's back at Transfiguration. Who's Headmaster?"  
  
Hermione shook her head. "Oh, Minerva's Headmistress."  
  
Harry blinked at her, showing a rare display of surprise. "Then why isn't she in the regular Headmaster's office?"  
  
"It's rather odd, actually," Hermione said as she poured more tea into Harry's cup, a perplexed look on her face. "We can't get in there."  
  
"Really?" Harry asked, taken aback.  
  
"No," Hermione set the tea kettle back down. "We've tried everything. Someone took a dictionary down to the gargoyle and read off every word in the English language. Someone even tried Latin! But it's as if there's no password at all. We had someone fly up there on a broom. Couldn't even see through the window--much less get in! So we're stuck. We've no way to get in. We're reluctant to try spells in case we damage something. I mean, what if the gargoyle won't let us in because there's something dangerous up there? But Minerva has tried many different spells and nothing's worked." Hermione sighed deeply. "It's as if we're simply not allowed."  
  
Harry frowned thoughtfully. He glanced at the clock and rose casually to his feet. "I really should be going now. I'll need to investigate the Death Eater activity you talked about. I suppose I don't need to tell you not to say anything about me to anyone. If someone asks, say I Disapparated in a huff."  
  
"You can't Apparate or Disapparate on the Hogwarts grounds."  
  
Harry grinned. "I can."  
  
Hermione looked slightly suspicious before her expression cleared and she nodded. "My lips are sealed."  
  
"Good," Harry said, nodding. "Because if you said anything, I'd have to kill you."  
  
Hermione laughed before realizing that Harry was not laughing as well. "You- You're joking, right?"  
  
Harry's expression did not change. "I'll see you when I see you." He waved his hand nonchalantly and disappeared.  
  
He appeared seconds later in the same park he had appeared. It was as good a place as any to start. He had no where else to go.  
  
"Harry!"  
  
Harry heard the voice and cursed inwardly. Remus Lupin was calling for him. If he hadn't seen him yet...  
  
"There you are!"  
  
Too late.  
  
"Yes, Professor?" Harry asked politely, mimicking his younger self.  
  
Lupin looked at him in surprise for a moment before he seemed to accept that this was indeed not his Harry. "Doubtlessly went to Hogwarts when you left." Harry frowned. He had been far too predictable. "Why did you leave when I expressly told you to stay?"  
  
"Because I'm not one of your students, Lupin," Harry said coldly. "And the sooner you realize that, the easier it's going to be for you."  
  
Lupin frowned but didn't answer. Instead he yelled, "Sirius!"  
  
Harry heard footsteps running and winced when he heard a crash that must have been a stumbled fall. Finally Sirius came limping into the clearing.  
  
"So let me get this straight," Harry said, raising his eyebrows. "You two ran in circles looking for me, when I could have been at any place in the entire world?"  
  
"Not any place," Lupin corrected. "There are not many places you can go in this time. I inferred earlier that you had been in the park by the looks of your robes and because there was one not too far from here. Where else could you go and not risk being seen?"  
  
Harry did not let his annoyance at his own predictability show on his face. "It would appear that you've picked up a few new tricks in the last five years," Harry said, smirking, "Along with a few white hairs."  
  
Sirius frowned. "Nope. Not our Harry."  
  
"Excellent observation, Sherlock," Harry said sarcastically. "Soon you'll start smoking a pipe and watching opera."  
  
Sirius scowled. "This is our great hope?"  
  
"I shouldn't think so," Harry said airily. "Last time I checked, this time had its own Harry. But I suppose he's too stuck in his own world to help out. Typical."  
  
"What does that mean?" Sirius asked in his usual godfather over protectiveness.  
  
"So what," Harry asked suddenly. "Does he just sit and mope around all day? What does one do when one has nothing that needs done?"  
  
"That's enough, Harry," Lupin said.  
  
"Yes, Professor."  
  
Lupin's eyes flashed. "This is no time for your games."  
  
"On the contrary," Harry said, flexing his finger, suddenly the very edge of readiness. "I would say that this is the perfect time for my 'games'." His wand was in his hand. "Who's there?"  
  
The figure made to scramble out of the way. Fallen leaves crunched underfoot as it made a mad dash for safety.  
  
Harry didn't even have to say the name to the spell before his wand was twirled and the person was floating five feet about the ground. They were still trying to run, but their feet didn't go anywhere. A wand whipped into view and the next second, with an instant reaction from Harry, it was lying harmlessly at the figure's feet.  
  
"Now tell me again," Harry said calmly to Sirius and Remus. "What it was you were saying about Death Eaters."  
  
~  
  
A/N: Tadda! Really long, like I said. Everyone rejoice. Are you rejoicing?  
  
Gilthas: Yes.  
  
Me: Good. Okay, responses to reviewers!!!!!!  
  
~  
  
black sheep: Oh well. *shrugs* They did it my way on Star Trek Voyager one time. I'll just copy that since it's too far to start over...  
  
Stephen Li: I hope so too!!!! Glad you liked my other one! Yeah, I was thinking about the Ron and Hermione thing, but I didn't want to change Harry's world. Seemed like a lot of effort. *grins*  
  
eruve tinwen: HAPPY DANCES ROCK! Everyone should do the happy dance. I'm crossing my fingers that I don't screw this one up, but I'm having trouble keeping Harry's personality on track. With all the resent changes in BTBT, I keep wanting to write him up as a stupid softy, but I can't! Oh well, hope this story's doing okay!  
  
sara*magic: Funny you mention that, because, in trying to get Harry's personality spiffy, I made all the guests go home and Harry told them everything that had happened. Then I reread it, decided it was stupid, scraped it, and rewrote it. I'm glad that you think I have his personality decent, anyway. Hope I did the same in this chapter! It's rather hard getting into his head. Before it was, hates the world, cold and unfeeling, gradually discovering his humanity. *Has trouble breathing for a second* You think I could leave Sirius out of this? NO! Never! He's back and his coolness came with him. In all his Siriusy coolness factor. Maximum. Or something. :)  
  
Darkmoon Fleur: Yeah, I've never really liked Ginny, but she's trying to help. She saw that the sympathy way wasn't working and tried a different tactic. But you also have to remember that it's been ten years since it happened and she doesn't know about Harry's most recent adventure. Oh well, she's out of there now so it doesn't matter...  
  
Lil Miss Potter: Yay! You liked BTBT too! Happiness! I'm glad you like my stories. I like to write them though, in all honesty, sometimes I think I need to go back and rewrite them. Oh well. We'll just see what happens...  
  
Rhinemjr: Yeah, Ron and Ginny are cool. Still, Harry's done such a good job of ensuring there was no way evil could get a grip in his dimension that I wasn't sure what kind of story could have been written in it. So I made him go back. Besides...Sirius is in that demension. :)  
  
gaul1: Thanks!  
  
Authoress: 50 reviews sounds great! I can't wait to read them all, though, if it was me, I'd run out of things to say in the third one and the rest would be about how crazy I think Swiss cheese it. I'm glad you liked it. I rewrote it three times so I hope it lives up to expectations!  
  
mashimaromadness: Yeah, Harry's rather dramatic sometimes. Still, he just went back in time and fixed the world in his perfect picture of how it should be, then he left and knew that it didn't matter that he did because he'd never see that dimension again anyway. Now he has!!!  
  
HiddenFlame42: Did you review BTBT? I'm trying to stay true to Harry's personality, so tell me if I screw it up!!!  
  
Liz: TELL me about it. Stupid sequels. Like the Tomb Raider movie. Okay, so I thought the sequel was halfway decent, but it didn't do so well. Oh, and I made sure to ruin the original twice before finally doing it some justice in the third rewrite. Glad you like it! Oh, and 3003's finished. :)  
  
annoying, reppetitive reviewer: Next chapter given. I feared the threat and acted accordingly. :)  
  
Nexus3: Be proud. I was planning to post another chapter of 3003, but then I got your review and thought...well...it has been a while... So I posted this one instead. :)  
  
~  
  
A/N: And that's all. Not bad for only a chapter.  
  
Gilthas: Not bad at all.  
  
Me: Isn't that a quote from 'Independence Day' the movie?  
  
Gilthas: *shifts uncomfortably* You know I don't watch your crazy human technology.  
  
Me: *looks suspicious* Riiigghhttt... Anyway, I'm going to eat my buscuits now because buscuits taste good. Especially the Pillsbury Grands Biscuits because they're so big and yummy.  
  
Gilthas:...You do that... 


	3. Finding Answers

A/N: Sorry so much about leaving for so long! We went to Boston and I wasn't here last Friday to update. Unfortuneately, that might be happening a lot this summer because we have a lot of things to do. Please bear with me! I won't leave it by any means so just be patient and I'll update when I'm able!!! hides  
  
Chapter 3: Finding Answers  
  
"I know," Harry said for the fourth time. Lupin unlocked his front door and Harry levitated the no longer struggling Death Eater into the room.  
  
"I was just trying to bring you up to speed," Lupin replied amiably.  
  
"I brought myself up to speed, no thanks to you," Harry said simply.  
  
"So I've heard," Lupin said. "What is it exactly that you're planning to do?"  
  
Harry grinned. "If I told you that, it wouldn't be a secret."  
  
"So you're not planning to tell me anything?"  
  
"Nope," Harry assured him. "Don't take it personally. I didn't tell Dumbledore anything either." Suddenly his eyes narrowed at the other two men. "I hope you're not planning to confuse me with that other Harry. Because I am not a child."  
  
"Harry's not a child," Sirius snapped.  
  
"Your love of him is touching," Harry said. "But as long as you know I'm here, I want to get a few things straight. You will never--I repeat, never tell me to do something and expect me to do it. You will never know what I plan to do before I do it. And, most importantly, you will remember that I am not of this time or this dimension and do not play by your rules. I am not your Harry and, odds are, you will not see me unless it is completely neccessary. Speaking of which, I will take my leave of you. I have nothing that needs done here."  
  
"Where do you plan to go?" Sirius asked.  
  
Harry raised his eyebrows. "I'm a big boy now, Sirius. I can take care of myself."  
  
Sirius scowled. "I am fully aware of that. Believe me, I am fully aware. Do you mean to sleep in some old Muggle hotel while you could spend the night here?"  
  
"If I spend the night here," Harry said slowly. "Then I will be forced to live under these rules out of common cutesy and dispite popular belief, I still adhere to that. I will not live under these rules and I will not stay here. I can fend for myself. I've been doing it for 10 years now."  
  
Sirius looked a little annoyed.  
  
Harry found he didn't care. Right now he needed some time to wrap his brain around what had happened and what he planned to do. He mimed tipping his hat to them and left, leaving them with the floating unconscious Death Eaters. He flicked his fingers when the door was closed the door behind him and heard the spell leave the Death Eater. He hit the ground with a thud. Harry found himself smiling slightly as he heard Sirius curse.  
  
He waved his hand randomly and found himself on a street in Muggle London. He stop smiling and put on a grim face, which was never hard for him. He was not at all pleased with the day's events thus far.  
  
He was back! Back in this miserable excuse for a time and this miserable excuse for a world. He didn't want to be back here. Not again.  
  
He trudged down the street, looking blankly at the buildings on either side of him. Now that the day had slowed down enough for him to think about it, he realized that he wasn't happy at all about the previous arrangement and wanted very much to simply go home and let this time worry about its Death Eaters.  
  
But he couldn't. Last time he could, but this time he couldn't. He just couldn't make himself. Something had changed in him in his last visit, he was not ashamed to admit, and now he couldn't just walk away when someone was in trouble.  
  
He cursed viciously, startling a Muggle as he walked past. He took one look at Harry's long black robes and tried to walk as far from him as possible. Harry hardly noticed.  
  
Why did these things always happen to him? Why didn't this Harry ever come to his time to make his life easier? Idiot.  
  
Harry tried to remind himself that it wasn't this Harry's fault. But that wasn't true, Harry thought bitterly. How could it not be his fault? Surely if this Harry was fighting in this time, he, Harry, wouldn't be in this time! That must be why he was sent back!  
  
That brought another unanswered question. Why was he back? Surely he hadn't fallen through another portal! He wouldn't have awoken on an identical bench! He would have been sprawled out on the ground if anything. He probably wouldn't have slept through it either. There must have been something...  
  
Harry sighed and stuck his hands dejectedly into his pockets.  
  
There was something in them.  
  
There was something there.  
  
Something small and round.  
  
Something that felt suspiciously like...  
  
Closing his eyes, Harry concentrated. Flashes of went through his mind quick as lighting. He opened his eyes with a nod. Reaching into Draco's pocket, he pulled out a small round talisman.  
  
Harry stared at the talisman in confusion. Clearly he had forgotten to take the talisman out of his pocket and since he cleaned his robes by magic, he'd never lost it.  
  
Frowning at the small round object, Harry thought hard. What did it do, exactly? All Harry knew for sure was that it had allowed him to see through the veil, not go back in time.  
  
But he wasn't back in time. His time hadn't changed when he had changed the past. This was some sort of...alternate dimension.  
  
Harry was thoughtful for a moment. He waved his hand to dismiss his mental musings. It was pointless. He had more important things than to waste time asking questions without any real means of knowing the answer.  
  
He placed the object back in his pocket and felt around for something else, something he remembered putting in there from his last trip.  
  
There.  
  
He pulled it out of his pocket and stared at the Remembrall. The white whisps floated around lazily, retaining their white shade. He rememebered making this as well, and he knew exactly whose memory was floating around in there.  
  
Lucius Malfoy.  
  
It was dangerous to have this object in this time. If he had remembered, he most certainly would have left it home. If it fell into the wrong hands, it could bring a rather powerful adversary back. Harry scoffed at the idea. No one could take something from him that he didn't want taken. He was more powerful than any other in this entire dimension.  
  
Harry rolled the little ball in his palm thoughtfully, mulling over his next course of action. Should he see the Death Eaters? No. They were not his responsibility. He would go and see the person whose responsibility it was.  
  
He grabbed his cloak, preparing to Apparate when he remembered, once again that he was on the street. Cursing softly and promising himself dire consequences if he ever slipped up and actually Apparated, Harry made his way into a small side alley. After checking to ensure no one was getting close, Harry closed his eyes and concentrated.  
  
It was not hard to find the location of his other self. After blocking out his own wand, he concentrated on finding the other. A location popped into his head. The Leaky Cauldron.  
  
Harry Apparated.  
  
He was standing in an alley across the street from the small pub and, replacing his wand in his pocket, made his way out.  
  
The sun was just setting in the distance, shining an orange light on the London street. Despite the number of people there, it was rather hushed and quiet in a pleasent sort of way, as though the orange tint shining from the heavens was engulfing everyone in a feeling of peace and contentment.  
  
Everyone but Harry.  
  
He did not notice the sun or the hush of the crowd. He was too absorbed in making his way to the Leaky Cauldron without being seen.  
  
He did not like being in the middle of an open street and shrunk into the shadows as soon as he reached the safety of the other side. He pulled his cloak low over his head so that it hid his face completely. He reached out a hand and pushed open the door to the little pub. The orange light of the outside world fell onto the dark, candle-lit pub shining brightly for a moment before plunging the place again into darkness.  
  
Harry did not wait for his eyes to adjust. He could not stand in the middle of the room, waiting for his younger self, who he had instantly spotted sitting at a table, to notice him. He positioned himself at the bar facing the table, his hood concealing his face, and listened.  
  
His younger self sat alone. He checked his watch periodically. He must be waiting for someone.  
  
The door opened again. Two very noisy customers came in, laughing and joking. It was Hermione and Ron. They looked excited and hurried to meet Harry, who stood up, a grin on his face, when he saw them.  
  
"Long time no see!" Ron said, clapping Harry on the back. "What have you been up to?"  
  
"Nothing much," the other Harry said, shrugging. "How about you?" Suddenly a grin spread across his face. "Promoted, I hear."  
  
Ron's grin widened. "I am now Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports!"  
  
The younger Harry grinned jokingly. "You've got all the makings of the next Bagman!"  
  
Ron groaned good-naturedly. "If I ever behave like that, shoot me."  
  
"Muggle or magical?" Hermione said, settling herself down at the table. The other two followed suit.  
  
"Muggle," Ron responded. "I would deserve the indignanty."  
  
They laughed some more and the waiter came to take their order. They took a while, joking and arguing amounst themselves over what they thought they should like to eat. The waiter laughed along with them. Apparantly they were regulars.  
  
When they had finally placed their orders and the waiter had left, Hermione turned to Harry. "What have you been up to? And Sirius?"  
  
The younger Harry shrugged, suddenly looking uncomfortable. Good, Harry thought. He should if he was refusing to fight.  
  
The waiter came back at that moment and distributed the drinks. They took them with smiles and thanks. The waiter nodded and left.  
  
Harry then continued as though they had not been interrupted. "Sirius is out a lot, fighting these stupid new Death Eaters."  
  
The table became rather subdued for a moment. Then Ron ventured to ask. "And...what about you?"  
  
"I'm not fighting, if that's what you want to know," the other Harry snapped. "Why don't you leave me alone about that? Haven't I done enough? Why can't people just leave me alone?"  
  
"That's not what I meant!" Ron said hurriedly. "I meant, what are you up to?"  
  
Harry did not relax. He sighed and looked down at his mug. "I know what you wanted to talk about. Don't worry about it. It's just..." he hesitated, averting his eyes. "I'm tired, you know? I don't want to be a hero anymore. It's not like I chose this job. Don't you think I should get some choice in the matter?"  
  
"Of course!" Ron said supportively.  
  
Hermione, however, looked skeptical. "That doesn't sound like the Harry I know from school. You didn't concider your year complete unless you had one plot to kill you at least."  
  
"That Harry had never gone up against Voldemort," the younger Harry said softly. Hermione diverted her eyes this time, looking ashamed at having brought it up.  
  
What were they doing? Harry wondered from his place at the bar. Why didn't they say something else? That hardly seemed sufficent. There must be something else. Surely he wouldn't give up the fight for such meager reasons...  
  
"We do need your help, though," Hermione said softly. "They're tougher than they seem. It's like they've been planning this for years. I..." she took a deep breath and continued lowering her voice so that the older Harry had to strain to hear it. "I think they're planning to bring Voldemort back."  
  
Harry blinked in surprise from his place at the bar. Hermione had left that part out.  
  
It got younger Harry's attention. His hand jerked without him seeming to notice. He was looking at Hermione in disbelief. "Bring him back? Can they do that?"  
  
Ron cut in hurriedly. "There's no actual proof. Some of the evidence only points that way."  
  
"Are you kidding?" Hermione asked, almost angrily. "What about the word of that captured Death Eater?"  
  
Ron grimaced. "He was insane from the start."  
  
"But he didn't hold anything back," Hermione argued. "I believe him, and I don't want Voldemort to come back!" she had lowered her voice quite a bit by the last point, making sure no one heard. But Harry heard from his place at the bar. He heard it clearly and he didn't like it. He glanced at his younger self's face and his eyes held. He looked rather frightened.  
  
Unfortunately, Hermione and Ron didn't notice. They were paying too much attention to their own arguement.  
  
"There's no way to be sure," Ron argued.  
  
"Just because you don't want it to be true doesn't mean it isn't," Hermione said, shaking her head. "I think we should prepare for the worst! Denying it isn't helping!"  
  
"I'm not denying it!" Ron countered. "I'm only saying, I don't see how it could be done! They're probably trying to scare us, or throw us off track! If that's the case, it's clearly working!"  
  
"I'm being cautious!" Hermione argued. "Better safe than sorry, as the old Muggle saying goes! And if we don't play it safe, we're going to be very sorry indeed!"  
  
The younger Harry's grip on his glass had increased quite a lot. He was not looking at his two friends, staring instead at the door, as though thinking hard. It was not hard for the older Harry to imagine what was going through his head. Some of his annoyance of the boy disappeared, to be replaced with...was it sympathy? It had been too long since he had felt the emotion to be sure.  
  
"If we let people think that he's coming back, there's going to be a panic!"  
  
"How stupid do you think we are? We're not going to tell anyone! Not unless we know for sure!"  
  
"Still," Ron said, as though expecting Hermione to suddenly say she was joking. "There's no way to bring someone back from the dead! Their spirit has left their body! They're gone! Nothing can bring them back!"  
  
Hermione was shaking her head. "You're thinking too small, Ron. He already came back once, remember?"  
  
"He wasn't completely dead!" Ron argued.  
  
"And he isn't now!" Hermione said determinedly. "Nothing can truly kill that monster, not dead like the rest of us. There's something left of him, you mark my word."  
  
The conversation came to an abrupt end as the younger Harry suddenly stood up from his seat, tilted his head back to drink the last of his butterbear and said quickly, "I have to go. I'll see you later?"  
  
"Oh, come on, Harry!" Ron said quickly. Harry shook his head, his face rather whiter than usual.  
  
"Congratulations on your new job," he said. He quickly turned to leave and Ron followed, close at his heals.  
  
The other Harry stood up as well from his place at the bar and made his way to Hermione's table where she was being forced to wait for the bill. She was gesturing to the waiter, but it appeared he had not seen her yet. Harry settled himself across from her.  
  
"I'll be gone in just a second," Hermione said with a smile. Suddenly she stopped, understanding filling her features. She stopped her attempts to gain the waiter's attention.  
  
"What did you do to him?" Harry asked.  
  
Hermione sighed and unconsciously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "He's been like this since the Death Eaters. He was fine before that..." she trailed off, looking in the direction her friends had gone.  
  
"Let me guess, never once did anyone think to ask him exactly what had happend that night."  
  
Hermione looked at him in disbelief. "Are you crazy? I was there, remember? He knows he can talk to me."  
  
"Maybe he needs a nudge," Harry said. "Did you every think of how hard it is, trying to struggle through something alone?"  
  
Hermione looked a little embarrassed. "He's always been able to talk to us before..."  
  
Harry snorted. "No he hasn't! Remember how long it took him to tell you about the prophecy? He's trying to do it himself."  
  
"What do you want me to say?" Hermione asked.  
  
Harry raised his eyebrows. "If you haven't noticed, I'm not the most sentimental person in the world. All I know is that you're all going to die if that kid doesn't help."  
  
"What about you?" Hermione asked. "You helped last time."  
  
Harry shook his head stubbornly. "I'm helping now as much as I can. This isn't my dimension. What reason have I to help?"  
  
Hermione's mouth opened slightly. "Because innocent people could die!"  
  
Harry frowned. "That isn't my concern. I'm going home as soon as I can get the kid to snap out of it."  
  
Hermione sighed. "I suppose it's no good reasoning with you when you've made your mind up. I still wish--"  
  
"Harry?" said an incredulous voice behind him.  
  
Harry jerked, cursing himself mentally. He was loosing his concentration, letting his gaurd down.  
  
"I thought you just left!" Ron said, looking at him in disbelief. Suddenly his eyes narrowed and he looked at Harry suspiciously. "You look different."  
  
"I forgot my coat," Harry lied quickly, standing up to go.  
  
"You weren't wearing a cloak," Ron said. "You weren't even wearing robes."  
  
Harry sent a sharp look at Hermione who looked just as startled. It wasn't her fault, he knew, but he didn't want to think that he was loosing his touch. "I changed. It's a simple spell."  
  
"Oh," Ron said, still looking at him suspiciously. Suddenly his features cleared. "Listen, I didn't mean to make you leave. We can talk about something else if you'd like."  
  
Harry shook his head. "I have to leave. I will see you later."  
  
Ron looked put out but didn't stop him. Harry had reached the door when he heard Ron say suddenly, "If he magically changed his clothes, how did he leave his coat?"  
  
Harry walked faster.  
  
A/N: So, there's another chapter. It gets more interesting, I promise. I've been really writing lately because I'm on a roll now. Go me!  
  
Gilthas: Go you.  
  
Me: Exactly. So, anyway, here's responses!!!  
  
gallandro-83: Gilthas, my muse says Dragonlace rules! Raistlin rolls his eyes. :) Sorry you're confused!!! I was a little foggy on what the sequel was going to be about. To be perfectly honest, I think writing a prequel would be easier. Or a sequel to 3003. Actually, but about anything. sigh So sorry if you're confused. I get a little confused sometimes as well...  
  
gam: Very cool! Something cool's happening in the next chapter. I can't wait to post that one. :)  
  
Allizarin Sylvain Phyre: Hello, hello! It's been a while since you've reviewed. I just noticed. :) Okay, with 3003 over I can concentrate on posting and writing this one...not in that order. Switched aroud.Writing and then posting. It would be odd to post before I wrote because then I would have several pages of blank...okay. I'm done. Yay!  
  
eruve tinwen: gasp! has heart attack No bacon egg and cheese bisquits? blinks a minute Heart attack? Knowing how much grease Micky D's puts on their bisquits, that's probably the cause of heart problems, right there. We have McMuffins as well, but they're something different. Same fillings, but with a busquit on the outside. They're really good! Ah...but if older Harry gets behavior management lessons, I can't make him cool and stuff! Younger Harry needs someone to hit him upside the head, but that's why older Harry's here. thinks Yes...HIT HIM! HIT HIM! blinks Whoops. I was possessed.  
  
saramagic: First of all, what's a disco nap? Never mind. Murder Mysteries rule! Here's next chapter and you have permission to shoot me in a non- lethal place for not posting in so long. But I have a busy summer, like I said. That means I'll have about a hundred bullets in my by the time school starts. You know, if they would hurry up and invent teleporters, I wouldn't have to worry about those long trips. Oh, and about Johnny Depp, you'd have to kill my sister first. She'd probably bite you. By the way, she's not a vampire. It's just be weird. Hope you liked this chapter! I've been writing this story since I got back so you should be proud of me! go me! I rule! And...yeah. That's it. :)  
  
Nexus3: Ba Dum! 3003's done and this one's on the way! Have I meantioned already that I'm awesome? Well...apparently I...might have. I don't remember and I'm too lazy to look back. Yep. Bu tI am, just in case you were wondering. :)  
  
Darkmoon Fleur: No! No unlocking of the Headmaster's office. Remember 3003 when 1000 years from now it's still not open? Well, no opening of the headmaster's office. I just thought I should add that in there. :) Now, judging by Harry's attempt at being nice to Ron and Ginny in his time, perhaps he needs another trip. He's really not doing so well. Of course, it was only 5 days. He would have had another chance. But I needed him in this story and he's spent so much time getting rid of bad in his world, that there's nothing in hs world that needed done! THIS world, however...  
  
mashimaromadness: Stupid people who are supposed to be doing their jobs and aren't. I think I was annoyed that day. :) Glad everything is revealed. I hate reading those stories where nothing makes sense. So I'm trying to explain everything. Yep. Explanations...  
  
Liz: 'Sup! I dunno...maybe now that he's spotted it and stuff. Okay, yeah. No big mystery there. It was the talisman. Are you happy I finally updated? Do I get a hug? Pleez? :)  
  
Anarual: winces Yeah, so I'm going pretty slow. I'm trying but I'm just not the fastest writer in the world. Okay, so I'm getting pretty fast on the keyboard, but sometimes I just...zone...or...something. :) Sorry about the freakishly long wait!  
  
volleypickle16: Oh, I've been writing. It's the posting I'm slow at... :)  
  
HiddenFlame42: Ah, I can't seem to give up on this other Harry. He's in all my stories, isn't he? Well, I'm think of a 3003 sequel and a BTBT prequel after this. I have an agenda. Fun. And my summer's full. Blah. Slow updating this summer but don't leave me! :)  
  
Olivia Wood: Yeah, I thought that might happen. In my profile I wrote everything down for those confused people. I get a lot of confused people. Blah. Maybe I'm making it too complicated. I doubt I can tone it down, however, even if I tried. I'm just that kind of person. Blah. Again. :)  
  
HongMing: Not just Death Eaters...have I meantioned that yet? No matter. I like Older Harry. Noticed 'older' has become a part of his name. I should nickname him Larry so I can tell them apart. :) thinks a minute No...that doesn't work. I'll think of something. Actually, I think I'll just stick with Older Harry. It makes sense. Except in 3003 because then he was older looking, but younger actually. shakes head I think I'e crossed over to ranting. I'll be done now.  
  
kat: Updated! ...But not soon. Crap. I'll update this story more often now 3003's over!  
  
Nassar Himura: Yep! I've been writing a lot of this story, though I think this chapter's a little short. It's really coming along without trying to write 3003 at the same time. Future Harry rules because he's cool and sarcastic! He's like...the Heie of the group. Do you watch Yu Yu Hakashu? Yeah, but I wrote this long before I started watching that and besides, my Harry isn't short like Heie is. No, I mean he's REALLY short. :)  
  
BlackDiva: I've updated but not soon! Eck. I'll update this story much more often, but not once a week with summer full like it is. So muh to do! Fortuneately I just had a week off and I wrote and wrote!  
  
Adamand: Done! Well, not instantly, but I think it's close enough... 


	4. Magic

A/N: Hello! It's your unreliable author finally making an update!  
  
Everyone: cheers  
  
Me: I know, I know. I stink.  
  
Gilthas: Like old cheese.  
  
Me: Yeah right! Like anyone would leave cheese long enough for it to stink!  
  
Gilthas: Actually, some cheese stinks without it being old.  
  
Me: Good point. In that case, I stink like normal cheese.  
  
Gilthas: Yep.  
  
Me: Okay...nobody wants to read this anyway, so chapter now!  
  
Chapter 4: Magic  
  
Harry headed back in the direction of his hotel, his mind spinning furiously. He was taking too many risks. He was allowing his eagerness to see his—dead! He had to remember they were dead!—friends cloud his judgment and he was making mistakes. It would not happen again.  
  
Suddenly he felt a pulsing in his pocket. He froze, his wand in his hand before he knew he had reached for it. Carefully, very carefully he reached into his pocket.  
  
His fingers touched something small and smooth. The next second something had latched onto his hand, wrapping tightly around it like a vine.  
  
He yelled in surprise and pulled his hand out of his pocket. The ropes came with it and as he struggled against them, they grew before his very eyes and tightened around his hand, moving up his arm like lightning!  
  
It was rather awkward shooting a spell at one hand with his other hand, but he was a fighter and he had been in worse situations. Unfortunately, the spell had no affect on the ropes and instead made them tighten and move faster, winding their way across his chest and around his neck. They worked down his other arm and pushed the circulation out of his hand, making him drop his wand.  
  
The ropes tightened considerable and Harry felt himself being strangled. Closing his eyes and concentrating at that moment took all the self- discipline he possessed, but he did and suddenly the ropes caught fire and fell writhing to the ground.  
  
Breathing in deep, calming breaths, Harry knelt to the ground and looked more closely at the ropes, careful not to touch them lest they latch on again.  
  
They were not ropes at all but vines. Devil's Snare, by the looks of it. He shook his head in amazement as the fire burnt the last vine into nothing, leaving a small glowing ball. Harry's eyes narrowed. The talisman glowed red as though angry. Why had it attacked him? Surely the pulse had set it off, but if that was so, what had caused the pulse?  
  
Cautiously, and careful not to make the same mistake twice, Harry prodded the talisman with his wand. Nothing happened. He then picked it up lightly with two fingers. Its glow intensified and he was forced to look away lest he be blinded by it. It dimmed as quickly as it had glowed however and Harry studied it closely.  
  
It had not changed physically, but Harry sensed something else was different, a presence that was not there before. Shaking his head at the small object, he dropped it carefully into his pocket. It made a small click as it hit the Remembrall holding Lucius Malfoy's memory safely within.  
  
Suddenly he looked around. He was still standing in a street, though at the moment it was devoid of any living soul save himself. Yet, who knew who could have been watching the whole time? Perhaps the person who had activated the talisman was still there, watching...  
  
Harry felt unseen eyes on his back and whirled around, scooping his wand from the ground in one fluid movement. There was no one. Shaking his head at his own stupidity, he shoved his wand into his pocket and started off down the street. He was letting his paranoia get the better of him. There was no one on the street. If there had been, he would have sensed them long ago. Only two people alive had ever masked their signature from him. One was Dumbledore, the other was Voldemort. Neither was alive in this dimension nor his own. The only people strong enough to do so now were himself and his younger self and he doubted whether his younger self would be spying on him this late in the afternoon. From what he'd seen, the only thing that boy would be doing around this time was sleeping.  
  
He knew that he should go find a hotel, perhaps even do some research on the talisman he had in his pocket, but he had never been one for in depth studying. He would find someone else to do it.  
  
Closing his eyes, he waved his hand idly and appeared the next second in front of starting-to-be familiar house. He froze instantly. Wards covered the house, quite strong now that he was checking for them (which he did automatically wherever he went). Closing his eyes, he moved his hand slowly in front of him, the air rippling under his hand as he touched the outer bounds of the invisible wards.  
  
Bringing his wand out with his other hand, he traced a small circle in the ward. Had his eyes been open, he would have seen a small, golden trail follow his wand. Slipping his wand back into his pocket, he opened his eyes, very slowly.  
  
He had not activated the wards yet, but they were suddenly...on edge, were the only words that could describe it. They sensed he was there and were just daring him to activate them.  
  
Slowly, very slowly, he put his fingers on the inside edge of the golden ring. And slowly he began to push the circle apart, it molding under his fingers to only open the way his pulled. He pulled from the sides and then from top to bottom, trying to make it as big as he could without activating the wards.  
  
When the portal was big enough to fit a 4 foot person, he stopped. Flexing his fingers to stretch out the stiffness that had begun to sink in with his slow moving of the portal, he took a step back. The next second he was running and leapt through the portal, making himself small enough to fit through with no problem. He landed on the other side and froze, checking for more wards. There were none. Doubtlessly he believed no one could get through that barrier. Well, he was far from no one.  
  
Now that he was on the inside, he had no reason to be cautious. The ward did not keep people in, just out.  
  
Hurriedly he squished the golden circle back to its original size and then, like peeling off a sticker, removed it. It vanished in his hand.  
  
Silently, he made his way up the walk and placed his ear to the door. Nothing.  
  
Just as quietly he pushed open the door and stepped inside.  
  
The lights were on, which told Harry instantly that he was not alone in the house. Remus Lupin did not seem the sort to forget about turning the lights off.  
  
He crept through the house, peaking into rooms. Empty. Empty. There.  
  
A person was lying on the bed. Harry saw instantly who it was, easily distinguishable by the loud snoring and the messy black hair. So that was who had left the lights on.  
  
Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out the talisman. This time, it did not react to his touch. Looking at it closely and seeing nothing that would make him look like an idiot for not instantly knowing how it worked, he put it back in his pocket and moved toward the bed, no longer concerned with being quiet.  
  
"Sirius."  
  
The man did not move. He did not seem to hear.  
  
"Sirius Black." Harry said it slightly louder this time. Still, Sirius just lay there.  
  
"Sirius!" Harry said, louder still.  
  
"It's not going to work," said a voice behind Harry. Harry spun around, his wand at the throat of the newest arrival before his heart could beat a second time. Scowling, he replaced his wand in his pocket with a jerk.  
  
"Damn werewolf abilities," Harry muttered. The corners of Remus's mouth twitched.  
  
"What's wrong with him?" Harry asked, changing to a safer subject.  
  
"Nothing," Remus said, as though he wasn't sure if Harry was being serious. "He's out like a light, is all. He does that a lot lately."  
  
"Fun," Harry said sarcastically. "I need you to do something for me."  
  
Remus raised his eyebrows. "And what makes you think I will do something for you when you refused to do something for me?"  
  
"Because you told me to stay and wait when my time would have been better spent taking action," Harry said coldly. "I did what I had to do. Now you must do the same." Remus opened his mouth to respond but before he could get the first word out, Harry had produced the talisman from inside his pocket. "I am unsure the powers of this," he said.  
  
Remus took the small, round ball from Harry's hand and froze, his eyes on Harry's arm where his robes had dropped back to reveal his lower arm. Harry's expression did not change.  
  
"What happened?" Remus asked.  
  
There were burns on Harry's arm, a long jagged line wrapping around it as the vines had done when he touched the talisman. Apparently he had severely burned his arm in his attempt to free himself of the vines and automatically tuned it out. He frowned as he looked at the burns. "I didn't notice those."  
  
Remus looked at him, a tad disbelieving.  
  
Harry shrugged and dropped his arm, letting the robe fall over the burns. "It was that," he explained, nodding to talisman in Remus's hand. The werewolf suddenly looked much more wary of it. "Devil's Snare, I believe. I had to burn it to get it off me."  
  
"Where did you find it?" Remus asked, looking at it closely.  
  
"Getting Sirius out of the curtain," Harry said. "Young Malfoy had it."  
  
"Draco?" Remus asked disbelievingly. "But he wouldn't be old enough!"  
  
"Different time Draco," Harry said. "Came in after me. Same bloody idiot that sent me back in time in the first place."  
  
"I see," Remus said thoughtfully. "And what triggered it to send the Devil's Snare after you?"  
  
"I—" Suddenly Harry stopped, looking thoughtful. "I touched it and it sent the plant, but before that it gave off a sort of...pulse. That's why I reached in my pocket in the first place."  
  
"I see," Remus said. He put the talisman in his pocket. "I will see what I can do."  
  
"Right," Harry said. "Then I will take my leave."  
  
"One more question," Remus said as Harry turned to go. "How did you get past the wards?"  
  
A smile reached Harry's lips. "Magic."  
  
Harry decided next to go look for the Death Eaters. It wasn't hard for him to believe that Draco Malfoy would turn evil. It was only a matter of time. So all he had to do was find him...and Harry already had a lead.  
  
He stuck to the shadows as he made his way down the deserted London street, careful to make sure there was no chance he would be seen. He had done this for over ten years. It was almost second nature.  
  
Harry froze and sorted out his thoughts. He wasn't going to hide in the shadows when he got back to his own time. He would always walk where people could see him. He would be finished hiding. As soon as he got back.  
  
He did not want to think about the reluctant feeling he had just felt in the pit of his stomach.  
  
Harry stopped in front of an old department store. The dummies in the window did not move, but Harry knew what he was required to do in order to enter. Still, he had never followed the rules before and he wanted his presence kept a secret.  
  
Pulling out his wand again, Harry tapped the glass three times, looking over his shoulder to make sure no one had entered the street. Nothing appeared to happen to the glass, but Harry took a step toward it anyway and stepped inside St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. There was no one there and Harry was quite sure that if he had asked the dummies' permission to enter, they would have told him it was closed. And they would have recorded the confrontation. Harry's work involved being invisible.  
  
He made his way up the stairs to the fourth floor and stopped, looking around considering at each door when he reached it. He pulled the Remembrall out of his pocket and tapped it with his wand. It glowed once and then began moving in one direction as though pulled by and invisible force. It stopped outside a door.  
  
Harry turned the Remembrall with a sharp twist of his wrist and, as if the string that was pulling it broke, it stopped its tugging. Harry carefully placed it back in his pocket.  
  
He opened the door.  
  
Everything was white in the room: the hangings, the carpet, the ceiling... He blinked as it assaulted his eyes. The place was illuminated by a faint glow. Apparently a night light. Harry resisted the urge to roll his eyes.  
  
He pulled back the curtain of the first bed and found what he was looking for. A man lay there with freakishly blonde hair with something of a bleached quality to it. Lucius Malfoy.  
  
"Long time, no see," Harry muttered under his breath. His only problem was that Malfoy was alone in the room. Apparently five years was long enough time to stop wanting to see your father everyday.  
  
Harry poked the man harshly with his wand.  
  
He woke up with a start and looked at Harry without recognition. "Why hello there!" said the man in such a happy way that Harry stared. He supposed memory loss must do that to a person. "Have you come to see me?"  
  
"I have," Harry said, finding it hard not to keep the cold quality out of his voice. "I want a few questions answered."  
  
Lucius sighed. "So you've come back, have you? Well that's a pity. I'm afraid that I don't know much more than I did the last time you people came. If you want to see my nurse, I can call her—"  
  
"I'm here to see you," Harry said harshly. Lucius looked taken aback and a little hurt. Harry would have laughed if he did not think it might harm his quest for answers. "Tell me, has your son been in to see you lately?"  
  
Lucius's face split in a wide grin. "He has indeed! You do mean Draco, don't you? He comes about this time of night as well. He says it hurts his eyes. And I can believe it! Have you seen them? They're very gray. I suppose that has something to do with his reactions to the light. He got very upset when a nurse came in to give me a snack and turned on the light. He—"  
  
"Does he talk to you?" Harry cut in. Given half a chance, this man would continue rambling for hours.  
  
Lucius nodded, beaming. "Tell me all about his work and how he's going to kill the person who..." suddenly he frowned, thinking. "Who did this to me, I think is what he says. He always mutters the last part under his breath. So maybe he's not so sure of it and doesn't want to not do it if he says he will." Lucius shrugged with another smile. "He's a little odd sometimes, but he's the only one who comes in to see me." Suddenly his smile became quite delighted. "Until you that is! Are you going to come see me more often?"  
  
"If there's any chance I can prevent it," Harry said coldly, "I would never lay eyes on you again."  
  
Lucius's smile did not fade. "That's what the other people who came in here at the beginning said as well. My nurse told me that it means they like me."  
  
Harry had to try very hard not to roll his eyes. "Who were those people? What did they ask you? When did they come and see you?"  
  
Lucius frowned, thinking hard. "It was a long time ago. I haven't seen them in a very long time. They asked me questions about this person that I have never heard of! They seemed to think I would know him." He sighed. "Some people just don't listen when you tell them you don't."  
  
"Were they asking about Voldemort?" Harry asked.  
  
Lucius smiled widely again. Harry didn't think he could ever get used to that. "I think that sounds like the name! He must be a really popular fellow if you all know him so well!"  
  
"Really popular," Harry said sarcastically. "Back to the point of my being here. What else does Draco talk to you about?"  
  
"Oh all sorts of things," Lucius said, gesturing dramatically. "He really seems to hate some person named Harry..." he frowned slightly. "Dunno why. Every time I ask he just gives me this look...like a 'don't ask me those kind of questions' look."  
  
"I know this," Harry said. "Do you know where he stays when he doesn't come to see you?"  
  
Lucius frowned thoughtfully. "Well, no he doesn't. I've never asked. Why do you need to know?"  
  
"I have something to give him," Harry said, with a rather crooked grin. Lucius's face burst into a smile. "Well that's nice of you! You seem to be a nice person, so I'll tell you something he told me not to tell anyone."  
  
Harry looked at him, making sure his face didn't show the relief he was feeling inside at not having to have wasted his time all night.  
  
"He told me why he wasn't going to be here tonight. He said he's going to visit an old friend. I'm telling you, you see, because I think maybe you can give Draco his present there, since I don't know where he normally stays."  
  
"And who is this old friend?" Harry asked, his features showing nothing. He noticed this with a pang at that moment, his automatically neutral features. It seemed so easy to slip back...  
  
His thoughts were broken by Malfoy's next words. "Lupis, I think. Remun Lupis."  
  
A/N: Bum Bum Ba!!!! Okay, responses.  
  
grand admiral chelli: Well right now, it looks as though bashing Death Eaters will have to wait and bashing Remus is about to begin. Poor Remus! I liked Remus too. Oh well. He was good until he died. Nah, I'm just joking. Maybe. Mwahahahahahahahahaha!  
  
saramagic: Oh New York was great! We went to see a Broadway show and everything. Oh, and if you do decide to go to New York, you will need to stop by a restaurant called 'Jekle and Hyde' you know, like the book? It's really amazing. I don't remember the exact address though. You can ask someone and I'm sure they'll know where it's at. There's also a place called 'Serendipity' where they serve the biggest ice cream sundaes you've ever seen. That might be harder to find. But I mean, they're giant! There were five of us there and we bought 4. Well, 3 plus a frozen hot chocolate. They were good!!! I bought a T-shirt. So if you see someone walking around randomly wearing a black and white picture of a ice cream sundae with the restaurant name on it, ask if they know Gilthas!!! ...yeah. But I won't be in New York at that time. You can pretend to see me though and start talking randomly to thin air. I doubt the people in New York will even notice. Anyway, I've got to keep writing because my sister wants the computer. Gr... I blow my nose at her. Monty Python...hehe...crazy French people...  
  
Night-Owl123: Yay!!!  
  
A.M.bookworm247: Yeah. I did the back in time thing already with Back to Back Then, but I couldn't resist doing it again!  
  
eruve tinwen: extremely long and pointless reviews are the best kind! And that was as pointless as an unsharpened pencil, as my friend always says. Green eyes in the movie!!???! I didn't notice. I thought it was pretty funny. One thing I really didn't like about the first two was that the director never added the funny lines when the funny lines came up! This one added those lines and made up some more! Did you notice that they never mentioned the secret keeper business? That just blows my mind! If there was no secret keeper, why would they blame Sirius? Why couldn't Remus have done it? And how did Sirius know it was Peter? It just makes no sense! grumbles something about how they should me the director Still don't get the biscuit thing? No, we don't call cookies biscuits. We call cookies cookies. Think sausage biscuit except with bacon egg and cheese instead of sausage. Does that help?  
  
mashimaromadness: High school rocks! I just finished my Freshman year. So rejoice! Middle school/junior high is over! There is much rejoicing and we get to make fun of the small children who still have to go! laughs and points Anyway, happiness all round!  
  
Adamand: starts running faster pauses Did you just tell me to mush? blinks Anyway, here's next chapter! :)  
  
A/N: Okay! That's done. Now, go back and count the number of reviews. That's right. Seven. That's 7 in numeral form. Next time, I'm not updating until I get at least 10! At least! Not fair for poor author! And Remus is about to get seriously injured! Surely someone has comments on that!  
  
Gilthas: You would think!  
  
Me: No, do you think? I've found that using too much brain makes me hungry.  
  
Gilthas: Eating makes you hungry.  
  
Me: Granted. Oh well. I shall leave you with this, Monty Python fans!  
  
French guy: You British pig dogs!  
  
King Arthur: British? Well what are you then?  
  
French guy: I am French! Can't you tell by my OUTRAGOUS accent!  
  
King Arthur: What are the French doing in Britain?  
  
French guy: Mind your own business!  
  
Me: Not sure what comes after that, but next time, I'll quote the coconut scene! (A ten ounce bird can't carry a one pound coconut!) I love Monty Python...  
  
Gilthas:...clearly. 


	5. Guilt

A/N: Hello! I'm updating again!  
  
Gilthas: About time. I thought you never would. There has been a definate lack of writing going on lately.  
  
Me: shuffles uncomfortably Yeah, we've been on a ton of bike rides lately. We're training, you see, for Ragbrai.  
  
Gilthas: rolls his eyes Ragbrai, Ragbrai, Ragbrai. That's all you ever want to do anymore!  
  
Me: ...do you...er...even know what Ragbrai is?  
  
Gilthas: ...no.  
  
Me: It's a bike ride. It's 490 miles. On your bike. One week. 7 days. Day after day after day. Getting up and riding 70 miles. That's why we have to train. So we don't die.  
  
Gilthas: ...Oh. Well you could have written between trainings!  
  
Me: Granted. But normally I just took a shower and then did nothing. Oh! By the way, happy Fourth of July Americans!  
  
John Adams: I see fireworks!  
  
Me: Yay! I'm going to have to watch 1776 today. I like the song, 'Cool, Cool, Considerate Men', but you can only watch it on the extended addition.  
  
Gilthas: That's nice. Now let these poor people read your story. Because they hate you for not updating.  
  
Me: I was WAITING to get some more reviews! Eight! sigh Well, you'll all be happy to know that I'm working on a 3003 sequel as well. This one's just taking precedence.  
  
Gilthas: What's it called?  
  
Me: ...3004. What else?  
  
Chapter 5: Guilt  
  
Harry's thoughts whirled and he turned from Malfoy's bed with a jerk. Waving a hand, Harry found himself seconds later at the house of his former professor...again.  
  
But this time it was different. This time there were no wards to get through. They were just gone. Either someone had completely defeated them instead of just slipping through, or else Lupin had been completely foolish and removed them. He couldn't make himself believe the latter.  
  
Silent as death, Harry made his way to the house. He couldn't believe that Draco would be so careless as not leaving guards outside, but Harry had spent years learning to be invisible and now he could take cheese from a mouse and it not stop nibbling. Draco Malfoy's guards would be no harder. Besides, even if one of them did suddenly gain a pair of eyes, it wasn't as though they'd have time to speak before they were rendered unable to do so.  
  
Something in the back of his mind muttered at him that he shouldn't be doing this. He was stopping. He wasn't a weapon anymore. He wasn't spending his life hunting Death Eaters. He pushed it away. Some things were more important than himself.  
  
He did not use the door. To do so would have been a foolish move for certainly that was where the most gaurds were. He concidered briefly simply Apparating inside, but rejected it instantly. He could suddenly appear right in front of a Death Eater who would shout before Harry had time to see him.  
  
He crept foreward at the quickest pace he trusted himself to take, his ears straining for any sort of noise. There was nothing. He moved faster still, an omonous feeling growing inside him. Normally when things were so quiet, it meant... he forced himself to stop thinking about it.  
  
He reached a window and peered inside. It was pitch blackness everywhere. Where was Lupin? Waving a hand at the window, Harry unlocked it and slid it open in one smooth motion. Picking himself up carefully, he climbed inside and landed silently on the hard wooden floor. His eyes gradually adjusted to the dark and he was able to make out distinct shapes. Creeping carefully, he saw a shape that wasn't furniture, a shape that looked distinctly human.  
  
Carelessly holding out a had, palm up, he summoned a light without actually thinking what he was doing. He bent down to the figure on the floor and turn him over from his face down position. It was Lupin...and he had a bloody gash on top of his head, the bloody running down the side of his face. Ignoring the wound, he felt for a pulse. It was there, but very weak.  
  
Thinking quickly of the healing magic he had learned, he cringed. Most of his magics were for tiredness and broken bones. As much as he hated to admit it, if something like this hit him, he could probably tune it out continue fighting. But he had trained himself. Lupin had not. And Harry had never prepared to heal something so...simple. Lupin's problem now was how long he had lain there unattended.  
  
Conjuring a piece of cloth from nothing and wetting it with water that wasn't there, he hurriedly began cleaning the wound. Suddenly he froze. Someone else was in the house with them. They had just entered using the front door.  
  
Every fiber of Harry's being was on edge, waiting for that person to enter the room. His muscles jarred horribly when he heard someone shout, "Remus? Are you here? Remus!"  
  
Sirius Black entered the room then, his wand tip lit. "Those Muggle contraptions in there aren't giving off any light," he said, looking around the room as he walked in. "So I-" He stopped when he saw Harry. Then his eyes traveled down to Remus. "Moony!" he yelled, hurrying to Harry's side and bending down next to his friend. "What happened?"  
  
"Malfoy," Harry said. "I got here too late. Not that I could have arrived any quicker."  
  
Sirius didn't appear to be listening. He had snatched up the cloth from Harry's hand and was dabbing Remus's head to get rid of the blood. "Can't you heal him?"  
  
Harry frowned. "I'm a fighter, not a healer."  
  
"We have to do something! We--" He stopped as Remus's eyes fluttered open. "Harry!" he said when he saw him. "Draco! He--" Remus's eyes rolled back into his head and Sirius leapt foreward with a yell.  
  
"He's just unconscious," Harry said quickly. "I would know if he died."  
  
"We have to get him out of here!" Sirius said. "But we can't Apparate! We can't carry Remus that way and besides, they're monitoring the house so they'll know if we do!"  
  
"Got it," Harry said. Grabbing Remus's wrist in one hand and Sirius's in the other, he concentrated. The next second his molecules were rearranging and he was speeding to St. Mungo's. He couldn't actually see himself moving or feel himself moving, but somehow he knew he was and the next second he, Sirius, and Remus were all sitting on the floor of the waiting room in St. Mungo's.  
  
"What was that?" Sirius asked. "You did it before, 5 years ago when you got me out of the veil."  
  
"Long story," Harry said. "It's my way around Anti-Apparition spells."  
  
"Well, let's get Remus in a ward," Sirius said quickly. He called loudly, "Healers? Is there anyone who can help?"  
  
There was a moment of pause and then hurried footsteps were heard. Three people came into the room, more importantly, three healers.  
  
"He needs help," Sirius said.  
  
Two of the healers exchanged panicked looks but the third instantly took control.  
  
"Bring him with me. I can find him a ward and bring the healers in."  
  
"Healers?" Sirius asked quickly as Harry levitated Remus after her, his hood again pulled low. "I thought you were healers!"  
  
"We're the nightshift," said one of the two other healers hurriedly. He glanced at the woman who had taken charge. "We're just studing. We really don't know what we're doing."  
  
The woman rounded on him in an instant. "You better figure it out fast! You!" She snapped at the third nightshift person. "Get the healers! Now!"  
  
The woman jumped as though branded and hurried in the other direction.  
  
"In here," she said, opening a door and holding it as Harry levitated Remus though and put him on the bed. Harry blinked from within his hood as he passed her. Something was...strange. He was instantly wary but said nothing. It was not a good strange nor a bad strange, it was just different, but Harry had learned long ago not to take chances. He nearly laughed. Yeah, chances. He was taking more chances now than he had in his life, well, the last ten years anyway. How was he to know that what he did now would not change everything for the worst? It was easier in his time. There were no real Death Eaters left to worry about.  
  
The third woman came back with a distinguished looking man at her tail. He gazed coolly around at them all, (especially the nightshift woman who had lead them in there, Harry noticed) and said in a quite a calm voice. "You may leave."  
  
Harry was not used to such a dismissal and it appeared Sirius was not either. The three on the night shift left, however, and Harry decided it wiser not to make a scene and reveal himself. Sirius followed Harry, quite hesitantly, throughing backwards glances over his shoulder.  
  
"The waiting room is this way," the first woman said, her tone changed from her previous brisk instructions. Harry spotted a name tag. Reida. "There's nothing more you can do now. He's in good hands."  
  
"Reida," came a call. Reida stiffened visibly. The third woman came striding down the hall, her earlier panic gone. In its place was cool control as she looked at Reida, her expression one of disdain. "Perhaps you would like to explain your actions to the head Healer when he returned in the morning."  
  
Reida's eyes flickered, but in anger instead of fear. "You were doing nothing. I had no choice."  
  
"We were merely assessing the situation," she said calmly. "And besides, I must file a report anyway. I think perhaps he would like it better if you told him yourself."  
  
Reida's eyes flickered to a moment to Harry and Sirius. Harry's face was hidden within his cloak and Sirius was obviously not listening to a word. Reida straightened and, with her head held high, she calmly walked own the hall. The other woman's face wore triumph and...was it contempt? Harry frowned at them, then shook his head. It was none of his concern.  
  
When they were gone, Harry turned to Sirius, who had started in the direction Reida had indicated the waiting room to be. "I will leave and inform the others," Harry said. Sirius stopped in surprise and turned.  
  
"You would do that?"  
  
Harry's small smile was hid beneath his hood. "Despite popluar beleif, I do have something of a heart." He did not meantion the last time he had seen Remus in a hospital bed. He would not think of it.  
  
"Thank you," Sirius said. He seemed faintly incredulous, but he meant what he said.  
  
"Don't meantion it," Harry said, shrugging. "Beside, I've nothing better to do at this time of night."  
  
"Not what I've heard," Sirius said with a smile. "But thank you anyway."  
  
"If you say that too many time I shall have to rip out your spleen." Sirius's smile did not fade and Harry found himself happy that it did not.  
  
"I'll hold you to that," Sirius said. "Hermione will still be at the school. She's always there around this time of year."  
  
"I believe it," Harry said. "Oh, and be careful about that Reida girl. There's something off about her."  
  
"'Off'?" Sirius repeated. "How so?"  
  
Harry shrugged and prepared to leave. "I'm certainly not omnipotent. She's just different is all. Not sure if it's good or bad, but better to stay wary."  
  
"Right," Sirius said, nodding.  
  
Harry disappeared without a sound.  
  
"We're here to see Remus Lupin."  
  
"Of course, Mr. Potter," said the woman, swallowing. Her fingers flew down the list as fast as they could. "He's in ward 32, Fourth Floor."  
  
"But that's spell damage!" Hermione said from behind Harry. "He was just hurt!"  
  
"I-I," the woman stuttered, sending a flustered look toward Harry. "I think they said some kind of jinx. Something inside him, I think-"  
  
"That's all we need to know," Ron said quickly, grabbing Harry's arm and pulling him away. "Thank you very much!"  
  
"Any time," she said, her eyes still on Harry. "If you need anything-" she called as they hurried on.  
  
Ron was scowling and Harry was looking rather embarrassed. "How about you go alone next time," he muttered.  
  
Hermione gave him a sypathetic look. "People just don't know how to act around you," she explained. "You don't get out much and then you make a sudden appearance... she was just a little confused it all."  
  
"Yeah, confused," Ron grumbled. "More like completely mental."  
  
Hermione suddenly frowned. "But why would Remus be on the spell damage floor? I don't understand. I thought it was an easy to heal head injury."  
  
Ron and Harry looked worried as well as they climbed the steps. When they got to Remus's door, they opened it carefully. A nurse was in there, her nametag reading Reida and she looked distinctly disgruntled over something. But she did not look panicked or worried so it helped Harry's mood somewhat.  
  
Reida looked up when they came in. "Hello? Ah yes, they told me people would be coming."  
  
"What's wrong with him?" Hermione asked, looking at Remus's bed where he seemed to be asleep.  
  
Reida frowned, looking at Remus as well. "We're not sure. We've never seen anything like it. He drifts in and out of conciousness, you see, so we're able to get vague details of the condition. It seems he's not in any sort of pain-"  
  
"Well that's good, isn't it?" Ron asked quickly.  
  
"It would be," Reida said, "But there's always the chance he could be really suffering. You see, he can't actually feel or move his body. It's like paralysis, but we can't find anything wrong with him physically, there's no spinal chord injury. So it must be a spell or potion, right? But there's no potion in his veins and there's no spell placed on him. We simply can't seem to puzzle it out."  
  
Harry frowned. "Is he awake now? Or is he unconscious?"  
  
Reida looked behind her again to where Remus was laying unmoving. "It's hard to tell sometimes. He has a small bit of control over his facial features, but he seems to have a hard time keeping his eyes open. It probably requires constant effort. He-"  
  
The door opened again and Sirius came in. He smiled sadly when he saw the trio. "Did she tell you about it?"  
  
Reida shook her head. "I was getting to it."  
  
"What is it?" Hermione asked.  
  
"The full moon's coming up," Sirius said. "They're not sure what to do about it. They...they think he'll...die..." he trailed off, looking at Remus. He shook his head and continued, his voice slightly stronger. "They think he'll die in an effort to transform. His insides will trasform into the wolf, but his paralysised skin and bones...his heart will probably burst in an effort to expand against the unyeilding rib cage."  
  
There was a moment as the words soaked in.  
  
"But that's ridiculous!" Hermione said. "They can do all sorts of things with magic! Why don't they remove the rib cage while he transforms so his heart doesn't burst holding the rest of him together by magic and then put it back in when he's human again?"  
  
All four looked at Reida. Her eyes flashed as though in complete rage, though her voice held steady. "Because they do not want to spend time on a werewolf."  
  
"That's stupid!" Harry said, suddenly very angry with her. "Make them!"  
  
"You don't get very many privleges when you're different," she said, her eyes blazing higher, though her voice remained as calm.  
  
Harry wanted to shake her! "Living isn't a privilige! It's a right! Make them do something!"  
  
"They will not listen to me," she said, quite firmly.  
  
"Why not? You work here too!" Harry said furiously.  
  
"It isn't that," Reida said calmly. "And in reality, I am allowed to work here in pity. I am a squib, you see. You don't get privileges when you're different."  
  
Harry's anger winked out. A squib? No wonder she was angry!  
  
"But why do you work here, surrounded by magic everyday if you're a squib?" Ron asked blankly. "Why don't you..." He trailed off with a wince. Hermione had elbowed him hard.  
  
"Why don't I live like a Muggle?" Reida asked, her voice cold. "Because I have no wish to remain in a world that is constantly being lied to, a world manipulated entirely by invisible strings. I will stay here and at least see the strings. I cannot be the puppetmaster, but I refuse to be the puppet."  
  
"Good enough reason for anyone," Sirius said hastily. "Is it okay if we talk to Remus?"  
  
Reida hesitated before nodding. "He probably won't respond. I've no idea if he's asleep or awake. Just keep in mind that he might not answer, awake or not." They nodded and she left quietly. Harry watched her go. She was definately...different.  
  
He turned his attention to Remus. They crowded around the bed.  
  
"Remus?" Sirius asked. "Moony?"  
  
Remus seemed to be trying hard to move. His eyelids seemed to strain and the next second they opened. They twitched but he held them steady, clearly using a lot of effort.  
  
"How are you feeling?" Hermione asked gently.  
  
"Stupid question," Ron muttered and Hermione sent him a look.  
  
"Listen," Sirius said, watching Remus worriedly. "You don't have to go through the effort of looking at us. You can close your eyes if you want." Remus did not move. His eyes remained open, staring at them.  
  
Sirius nodded. "Listen, we're going to get them to do the surgery and you're going to be fine. Don't you even worry about that full mooon, okay? It's not like they're going to say no. They're going to find the cure for this. Heck, I'll find the cure to it if they don't!"  
  
"And I'll look into it," Hermione said. "I have the Hogwart's library open to me. Don't you worry about a thing. Just concentrate on getting better."  
  
They were silent for a moment. Then Harry voiced something that had been bothering him a great deal. "What hit you?"  
  
"He can't answer that, Harry," Sirius said sharply. "Don't make him think about it. He's been through enough."  
  
"It was the Death Eater's wasn't it?" Harry asked. Suddenly the room seemed deadly quiet. "They're the ones that did this to you."  
  
"Harry, remember that Remus is going to be okay. Don't do anything rash."  
  
Harry wasn't listening. His head was spinning. The Death Eaters. The bloody Death Eaters. The Death Eaters he hadn't wanted to fight. The Death Eaters he still didn't want to fight!  
  
Harry turned away from the bed, struggling hard in an inner battle. He was finished! He had fought his Death Eaters! He had done his part! He had promised himself that he was done meddling, that he was done suffering. He had told himself, lying in that field when it was over, that the world had been lifted from his shoulders. That he didn't have to fight anymore...  
  
He tilted his head back and closed his eyes.  
  
There's no one else, said a little voice in the back of his head. You could have saved Remus. Instead you wanted to sit at home and do nothing.  
  
Remus isn't dead! He told that little voice firmly. He's going to be okay. I'm going to talk to that idiot doctor and make him treat him!  
  
You're thinking in the short term, said the little voice fiercly. What if Sirius hadn't gotten there in time? What if Remus had died there, alone on the floor of his living room? What's going to happen next time when Sirius is too late? Are you willing to let that happen?  
  
Harry knew that the little voice was quite right, that he needed to fight. It was his duty. His bloody duty. It was always his bloody duty. He suddenly felt very old and very drained and wishing very much to be somewhere else in the world at that moment. Swallowing, he turned back to the bed. Everyone was carefully looking in the other direction, but Remus's eyes were locked on Harry. He had to work to hold his eyes open. He was suffering because Harry was weak.  
  
Harry sat back down at the bedside and Remus's eyes sluggishly followed him. They looked...questioning. Harry avoided looking at them. His fault. All his fault. Remus was hurt and it was his fault.  
  
The rest of the time was rather subdued. Remus couldn't move or speak and finally he must have become exhausted because after a small battle, his eyes fell closed.  
  
They left soon after and Hermione caught up to him in the hall.  
  
"Harry," she said firmly. "What happend to Remus wasn't your fault. You know that, don't you? You don't have to fight if you don't want to."  
  
"Are you kidding?"  
  
Harry looked up in surprise. Ron was staring at him with an annoyed expression on his face.  
  
"What?" Hermione asked blankly. "Ron?"  
  
"Harry's been sulking around every since that battle. I know it was terrible for you, I understand that and I'm not asking you to forget what happened. I just want you to accept what happened and move on! It's been five years!"  
  
Harry blinked in total surprise. Ever since the event, everyone around him had been rather soft spoken about the event. He hadn't expected Ron to speak ao bluntly. He frowned was about to tell Ron quite firmly that he hasd not been sulking, but suddenly a wide eyed Sirius cut in. "I should like a cup of tea!" he said quite loudly. "Harry?"  
  
"That's a wonderful idea," said Hermione quickly. She grabbed Ron's arm. "We'll follow in just a minute. I need to talk to Ron first."  
  
Harry frowned and saw exactly what they were trying to do, but he had no wish to start a fight with Ron and let Sirius steer him toward the stairs.  
  
He did not see the very annoyed look on Ron's face.  
  
Hermione did, however. She turned to Ron frowning and eyes flashing.  
  
"What do you think you're doing!?" she hissed. "Are you trying to make him hate you?"  
  
To her surprise, Ron grinned widely and twisted his arm deftly out of her grip. "I'm simply trying a different approach to the same problem," he said calmly, looking her in the eyes. Hermione was suddenly aware that Ron always had to look down at her to look her in the eye and at the moment, they stood eye level. Her mouth opened in surprise.  
  
A smirk found its way onto Ron's features. It was such a foreign thing there that it looked wrong somehow. Suddenly Ron blinked and brilliant green eyes looked at her calmly, a hint of...mocking?...showing through.  
  
"Harry!" Hermione said in a strangled voice. "What did you do to Ron?"  
  
"Nothing!" he said innocently. The appearance did not touch his eyes however, and it looked strangly foreign, despite Ron's face framed around them. "Ron simply...over slept. I expect you to stop him from telling Harry."  
  
He said this so matter-of-factly that Hermione was quite sure he was used to giving orders and have them hurriedly carried out. She squared her shoulders and looked at him firmly. "Maybe," she said angrily. "You should have thought of that before you slipped something into Ron's evening tea!"  
  
Harry's eyes did not change, but a small smile appeared on Ron's face. "Come now, Hermione. I should have thought you knew I was above such tactics. What's the fun in a plan if there's no chance of being caught?"  
  
Hermione couldn't believe this and it was that much weirder coming out of Ron's mouth in Ron's voice. But not Ron's eyes, and that made all the difference.  
  
"You listen to me, Harry," Hermione said firmly. "I don't know what you were doing, but it isn't going to work! Don't you think we've tried that on Harry?" She was fibbing at this point, but this sarcastic Harry didn't need to know that.  
  
"Of course you haven't," Harry said dismissively. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have bothered. And don't give me that look, Hermione. You're 'it wasn't your fault' idea is pathetic and you know it. He's never going to fight if he knows no one blames him!"  
  
"Some people," Hermione said angrily. "Fight because they have something to fight for. They do not need to feel guilty."  
  
"Don't be a complete fool," Harry said, but not snappishly at all. His eyes driffed down the corridor. "Guilt is the only real reason for fighting."  
  
"Is that what you think?" Hermione said. "Do you think I feel guilty about the Death Eaters murdering Muggles? No! I think it's horrible, so I try to stop it, but I know that there is nothing I can do to stop them all. So I do what I can."  
  
"You don't understand," Harry said calmly, his green eyes meeting her gaze again. "He can stop them all."  
  
A small frown creased Hermione's face. "No one can do everything."  
  
Harry snorted in laughter. Somehow, he always managed to make his laugh seem out of disbelief instead of happiness. Perhaps it really was. "He can. I can. We're one and the same. I've just had ten years more training than he has. And I did it all because I could have saved you, and I didn't."  
  
"You couldn't have saved everyone," Hermione said firmly, fully aware that the wand in Harry's pocket had killed herself. "Not then. Maybe not now. I think that I personally prefer my Harry now to the Harry he would have become had he been consumed by guilt."  
  
It was a pointed insult and Hermione knew that Harry understood. He just shook his head. "And who was this Harry supposed to feel guilty about? Your parents? No offense, Hermione, but he never knew them and he didn't really know what he lost. What do you think would have happened to him if I had never brought Sirius back? What would have happened to him had I not distracted Voldemort that night and prevented the slow murder of the Weasley family? What would have happened if I hadn't stepped on that twig at the right time, Hermione, and prevented Harry killing you?"  
  
Hermione had known that last part was coming. She tried to forget every day since she had known the truth that her best friend had very nearly killed her. It wasn't his fault. He wouldn't have done it if it hadn't been for Voldemort.  
  
"If I had anything to feel guilty about," Harry said quietly. "It was that one thing, in a long list of death and murder."  
  
"It wasn't your fault," Hermione said quietly. She was horrified that her voice didn't hold much conviction and even more so as she realized that a part of her did blame him. She would never have known...  
  
It barely regestured in her as Harry blinked again and his eyes returned to thier adopted hue. It barely regestured with her when he walked calmly away. She stood there, trying to battle out her inner demons until Sirus came down to get her. 'Ron' had apparently already left. As she gave a start and sent Sirius a reassuring smile, she could not help thinking that perhaps, just perhaps, guilt was quite a good reason to fight for anything.  
  
Me: Tadda!!! So here it is. Wonder what Harry's going to say when Ron denys every saying it.  
  
Gilthas: That's he's stupid.  
  
Me:...Something like that. So anyway, Happy Fourth of July again! John Adams rules! Very underrated, he is. So anyway, here's responses to my eight loyal reviewers!  
  
Allizarin Sylvain Phyre: Hello hello! I'm happy you reviewed! You were one of the names I always remembered to look for. I'm glad you like my story. I really like to put those twists in there. It just makes writing the story all that more enjoyable. Sorry I took so long with the update! You probably hate me now, but I've been really busy so much lately! Even today I'm having to fit the review into the morning because we're getting on a plane to leave town! sigh Tell me, do those little starry things I put around the word 'sigh' even show up? Seems to me like they haven't lately...  
  
Darkmoon Fleur: No, Lucius just thinks Remus is a friend. Draco wasn't about to tell his crazy father that he was going to kill someone because Lucius might repeat it to the wrong ear. Like he told Harry. Draco just wants Remus dead because he's a key member of the resistance force that's preventing Draco's revenge on Harry and eventually world domination. What is it with evil people and trying to rule the world?  
  
grand admiral chelli: Don't worry! He's just in critical condition! He's going to be okay! ...I hope. Sometimes the story just writes itself. He's not dead yet, though and that's what counts! Sorry about the long wait before an update!  
  
Adamand: I'm mushing! Sort of...not really... I'm a horrible author, aren't I? Tell you what, I'll go ahead and udate as soon as I get back from my week trip. I'm taking my laptop around so I can write while I'm there. Expect another update in about a week. More than once a week it rather hard for me, but I have two weeks off after I get back and I'll write my head off while I'm not training for Ragbrai!  
  
mashimaromadness: ...He'll get better. I think. You can never tell with those stupid wizards. Monty Python rules! I suppose any comment on your late arrival home would be a little late. Sorry! I'll try to update quicker. I just have such a busy summer!  
  
eruve tinwen: I know! Can you believe that none of my friends had seen the movie!!!???!! I was out of town on premeir day an dthey just ASSUMED it wouldn't matter if they didn't see it! So as soon as I got back I rounded them all up and we went...have I told you this? I've ranted about it quite a lot so there's the distinct possibility I've already told you. If I have, sorry! Okay. Back to the biscuit thing. I think, to get the American equivilent of a biscuit, you have to put the British equivilent (i.e. The cookie) completely out of your head. No. Buscuits are a softer equivilent of the McMuffin. Or maybe I'm just not clear on exactly what the McMuffin is over there. It's the flat bread with the little 'M' on top, right? That's what I've been assuming. Don't you have the Pillsbury dough boy? You know, the Pillsbury animated guy that they always poke in the stomach on commercials and he laughs? He's a big busciut person.  
  
saramagic: I keep putting the star there, but it never shows up! Did it show up that time? It always shows up on your reviews. Maybe it's me. I bet it hates me because I'm updating less and less frequently. sigh I'm really trying, but my summers are so hard! There's so much I'm doing! Oh! How did it go at Cambridge? Was the university any good? Planning on going? Sounds like fun. More Sirius in this chapter. Only a little, but now Remus is...incapacitated...Sirius will be having a bigger role. I love Sirius! He's so cool! I hope he shoots that doctor. No. Really. I hate that doctor. Sirius can make him treat Remus if anyone can. 'Cause he's the coolest!!! Okay, so I'm going to try updating more often. I'm slacking off and I know it. I'm taking my laptop with me on my trip so I can write a lot. At least in the evenings. And in the mornings before everyone gets up. But there will be writing involved!!! does dramatic gesture isn't quite sure what the gesture was, but is sure it was dramatic So I shall leave you now. Hey wait! Are you going to have a computer at this new university so you can review? I shall be most upset if you don't. I'll frown more often. And be sad.  
  
Liz: Why hello, Liz! How's your life? laughs 'Productive members of society', huh? Sounds like you've been reading too much John Grisham. That's okay. Though, I'd have to suggest R.A. Salvatore to you or perhaps Wies and Hickman. Gilthas rules! And so does Drizzt, but I like Gilthas more and besides, he's my muse! But he doesn't come around until 'The Second Generation' book. But he's the coolest! In all his coolness! I hope more happened in this chapter. I think perhaps that it was a little short. Maybe, I dunno. There's no page numbers on my laptop!  
  
A/N: So there it is. You're done now and you can be sad until I update again. Which will be much sooner than this update! I promise!  
  
Gilthas: How long did it take you? Two weeks? Three?  
  
Me: shifts uncomfortably Somewhere in there. But I'm trying! I'm bringing my laptop along, aren't I?  
  
Gilthas: Granted. Holy Crap! I just checked the last update date and it's almost been a month!  
  
Me: Jeepers!  
  
Gilthas: Did you...just say 'Jeepers'?  
  
Me: I am shamed. Okay, well, I'll let you get on with your lives now. See yall later! ;) 


	6. What?

A/N: About a week, right? Well...tadda! Much quicker than my last. We made it back from Lake Superior on our family reunion with our cousins (we're going to see them all again at RAGBRAI in two weeks, but it they wanted a family reunion before that, who am I to argue?) with much incident, but you probably just want to read the story and not pay attention to it.  
  
Gilthas: 'grins' What happened?  
  
Me: 'groans' Bloody people at airport are completely pyscho.  
  
Gilthas: Can you elaborate?  
  
Me: No! So don't ask! Anyway, on the last day we actually jumped into the freezing cold lake like a bunch of morons (happy, excited morons, but morons just the same) and made our way back while turning blue. I'm afraid us Southern folk didn't expect it to be cold in July, even up North, so we didn't prepare properly. It was rather cold. And not just after we jumped in the lake. I...er...didn't exactly bring any tennis shoes...sneakers...shoes with shoe laces to all British people who aren't sure what I'm talking about. I just brought sandles. Bloody sandles. Oh, and socks, but of course, with sandles, they got rather wet in a hurry.  
  
Gilthas: Stupid southern hicks.  
  
Me: You're telling me. Plus, we didn't bring our bikes so I'm a week behind on RAGBRAI training.  
  
Gilthas: The horror!!!  
  
Me: Shut up. I heard that sarcasm. It's going to be a horror when I'm on the bike ride and dying going up a 5 foot hill! Oh, and I was to apologize at the abrupt switch from Harry1 to Harry2 in the last chapter. I had a marker thing there so you're know...but it didn't show up properly. Like the marker after this paragraph signalling that the story starts. It just isn't there! I put it there anyway though, tirelessly doing as I should despite the fact that it makes no difference...okay, I'm done. Read on!  
  
Chapter 5: What?  
  
Harry went to bed that night wishing quite fervently that Hermione had never pulled him aside. All that guilt that he had thought he'd worked through had resurfaced as Hermione's voice echoed in his head.  
  
It wasn't your fault.  
  
The words seemed to vibrate in his brain. The words themselves didn't matter. They seemed so...accusing in his head. She hadn't even looked at him after she had said them. Like she couldn't quite meet his eye. She did blame him. He traveled to a deminsion where none of it had happened, and his past followed right behind.  
  
He closed his eyes and tried to imagine the hard hotel bed as soft. He could tune out his pain as easily as closing his eyes, but discomfort always seemed, too small to do anything about. So he twisted and tried to get to sleep. Gradually sleep overtook him.  
  
Harry moved quickly through the crowd, trying to throw off the person following him. His hood was pulled low and no one looked at him twice. He kept moving swiftly. If the person caught him...  
  
He shook his head and walked faster, just short of a run. He couldn't let her find him...  
  
"Harry."  
  
Harry stopped dead. She had found him. He didn't know how, but she had and now he was stuck.  
  
"Sit, Harry," Ginny said calmly. "I just want to talk. Please stop running from me."  
  
Harry swallowed hard. He was quite glad his face was hidden by a cloak. That meant Ginny could not see him frantically looking in all directions for an exit. How had he gotten himself into this?  
  
She did see him hesitate, however. "Harry," she said quietly. "Please don't do this. I just want to talk to you."  
  
"What is there left to say?" Harry asked coldly He found he could not look at her. Thankfully, his cloak was concealing his face. He made a promise then that he would work harder. When he saw Ginny orRon next, he would not have to hide his face to hide his emotions.  
  
"You can't just leave it at that, Harry," Ginny said firmly. "You think you're all alone in the world and you're not."  
  
"We've had this conversation before," Harry said, his voice not changing.  
  
"But you haven't listened to me!" Ginny said frustratedly. "You haven't listened to anyone!"  
  
"There's no one left!" Harry said, his voice rising somewhat.  
  
"What about me, Harry? Am I no one? What about Ron? He's been your friend from the beginning! Is he no one too?"  
  
"You were there when Dumbledore told me there were still Death Eaters looking for me," Harry said. "You know that anyone around me is going to get hurt! Why won't you let me keep you safe?"  
  
"I don't need your protection!" Ginny hissed. "If you'd just stop taking responsibility--"  
  
"When it's my fault!" Harry said, making sure voice didn't rise. There were people everywhere. He didn't want to be heard. He wanted to be invisible.  
  
Ginny looked at him as though she was trying her hardest to figure him out and was turning up blank.  
  
"He scares me," whispered a voice from a small child. Harry looked around. It was a little girl. She was sitting on her mother's lap, while her mother told her about the newspaper she was reading.  
  
"Don't say that!" hissed her mother. "He's a good man."  
  
"But he's always unhappy in the pictures," protested the little girl. "I thought if you were good then you were happy!"  
  
"He's done a lot for us," her mother said. "You should feel very blessed to have him in your country."  
  
"I don't want him in my country," said the little girl. "I don't think he's a very nice person."  
  
Harry didn't have to look at the title on the front page to know who they were talking about. Ginny was watching them too. Being as silent as he could, he slipped away into the crowd before Ginny noticed he was moving. So he scared people, did he? Good. That meant no one else would be hurt trying to help him. No one would have to suffer. No one but himself.  
  
Harry woke with a start and rolled over. He had been sleeping rather peacefully since his last trip and he didn't like the reappearance of his old nightmares. He felt guilt whelling in him again and forced it down. He couldn't do that. Not now. He still remembered every detail of that mother's conversation with her daughter though. Every detail.  
  
He closed his eyes and tried to go back to sleep but after laying there for what felt like 30 minutes (it was really ten. He didn't have a clock in his run down hotel room) he decided that it was useless and got up.  
  
He changed quickly and put his cloak around his shoulders. Not needing light of any kind to know what was around him (as a safety measure he memorized his hotel room from top to bottom and made sure he could walk it with his eyes closed), he made it out of his room without anyone from outside being able to tell from a giveaway light.  
  
Crossing the hotel lobby by flitting from shadow to shadow, he made his way to the front door. Muggle cameras didn't see any better than Muggle eyes did when a wizard didn't want to be seen. He unlocked the door simply by pushing it and went out. Seconds later he Apparated and found himself at Remus's deserted house. He chided himself for not thinking of it sooner. He had been destracted by the violence and had not thought of what else might have happened.  
  
He walked calmly inside, knowing that if there were wards, he would know before he hit them. There were none and when he reached the front door, he opened it without a hitch.  
  
It was still dark inside, but the nearly full moon gave him enough light to see by. He held out his hand, palm up, and muttered into it, "Accio Talisman!"  
  
Nothing happened.  
  
Harry frowned and decided that a more advanced search might be in order. Tensing up in grave expectance, he raised his hand even higher until it was almost at eye level. He muttered, "Talisman!" in an almost angry hiss, pulling at invisible strings that held all magical objects. Three strings gave way and he knew they were coming toward him, pulled on by his single word.  
  
At the last second, as he felt them getting nearer, he jerked out of the way, dropping the strings and releasing the spell. Where the items would have collided into him at dangerous speeds, they fell to the ground harmlessly at his feet. He scowled when he saw what they were. A pencil, a bottle of ink, and an enchanted spell book. He knew that with the spell he had just used, the talisman would have come whether it wanted to or not. That meant the talisman was not here. With a silent oath, he Apparated, intending to go to Black Manor where he could find Sirius and ask him whether or not Remus had been able to communicate anything about his attack.  
  
Instead, he found himself at the entrance to St. Mungo's. Instantly Harry was on edge. Never before had he gone anywhere, not an inch, from his intended Apparition area. Something had pulled him there.  
  
He felt something pulsing in his pocket and he slowly pulled it out. Lucius Malfoy's memory. It strained against his fingers, trying to go somewhere. It was being summoned.  
  
He knew now what had clearly happened to his talisman. Draco had stolen it in the attack. If he knew that it would bring Lucius's memory back, then he must know that it was powerful. That meant he must have used it, which could explain Remus's unidentified illness. Harry could almost see the gears that had twisted in Draco's mind as he had slowly and stupidly discovered the power of the item. What could hurt could heal, right? Trust him to make a stupid first move.  
  
Harry put the Remembrall back in his pocket and made his way to the ward where he knew Lucius Malfoy to be. He knew that his assumtions had been right when, as he drew nearer, Lucius's voice floated to him. "I say, I don't quite understand what the hurry is about. I'm perfectly happy as I am. Of course, I know that it means quite a lot that I remember you, but I know you now, don't I? You shouldn't be quite so angry."  
  
Harry rolled his eyes in the dark. The new Lucius Malfoy was rather annoying when he didn't mean to be.  
  
He silently crept toward the room. When he directly in front of it, he got down and looked under the door. On pair of feet. Draco alone in the room with his father. Harry knew that he could not underestimate him. He had the talisman. It was a very powerful tool. Though how he had gotten it to work, Harry was still guessing, though an idea was steadily forming in his mind.  
  
Deciding that in this case, the only thing he could do was to open the door and go in, he pushed it open, loudly and obviously so it wouldn't be missed.  
  
Draco looked up from his pacing. When he saw Harry, a slow smile crept onto his face. Harry took in the details. Malfoy did not have his wand out. The talisman was instead tucked in his hand. He would not hurt his father, that could easily work to Harry's advantage. Deftly he moved an inch and put himself closer to the bed.  
  
"Potter!" Draco said, his voice dripping with venom, a fitting reminder of the evil smile on his face. "I should have known you would come!"  
  
"What is that supposed to mean?" Harry asked, raising his eyebrows. "You honestly expected that, after sitting around and doing nothing for five years, I would actually care about what you're doing?"  
  
"So you just come in to meet my father every once in a while?" Draco asked sarcastically.  
  
"Hello again!" Lucius said cheerfully. "How have you been?"  
  
Draco's smile was wiped from his face in an instant. "How dare you defile my father's room with your presence?"  
  
"I would be careful what you say," Harry said calmly, almost idolly as though only half of his conscious thoughts were on the conversation. It seemed to make Draco angrier. "You honestly have no idea who you're dealing with."  
  
"No idea, huh?" Draco spat. "I know exactly what I'm dealing with! You don't have any idea how long I have plotted my revenge against you, Potter! I know all of your strengths! All of your weaknesses! You'll never get away with what you did to my father! I have prepared for this for five years!"  
  
A small smile crept onto Harry's face. "It would seem that five years difference is not quite so great on the appearance as I previously thought. Everyone else I've met has already figured out by this time that they are talking to someone other than who they believed they were talking to. If you had indeed studied my fighting technique half as much as you say you have, you would know that I should not have simply walked through that door."  
  
"What are you talking about?" Draco asked, his own pathetic ignorance making him even angrier. "What do you mean, 'someone other than who they believed'? What, are you Black in disguise?"  
  
Harry had something of a hard time trying to decide if Draco's last sentence was a joke or not. In the end, he went for a negative on the question and tried to hide astonishment. "No. I'm Harry Potter, remember?"  
  
"Then why are you rambling on on a subject that makes no sense?"  
  
"Ah, that actually has the semblance of an intelligant question with some nearly intellgent thought behind it. I'm impressed, Draco. You're not quite as stupid as I thought you would be."  
  
Anger made Draco's pale cheeks flush. "You had better watch yourself, Potter! You don't have any idea who you're dealing with! I have new weapons now, weapons you can't begin to comprehend!"  
  
"Ah yes," Harry said softly. "The talisman."  
  
Draco seemed unable to believe that Harry already knew about his great weapon. Harry couldn't believe he was forced to deal with such a fool. "What do you know of it?"  
  
"It was I that brought it into this time," Harry said calmly. "Without me, you would never have known that it existed."  
  
"It responded to my command!" Draco said, nearly spitting in anger. "It responded to me! Why would it possibly respond to me if you made it!"  
  
"I didn't make it," Harry said calmly. "You did." Then he sighed as though he was performing a great service in explaining it. "As you clearly cannot figure it out with your tiny brain, I'm not who you think I am. I am Harry Potter, yes, but I am from a different time--a different dimension and in my dimension, I didn't get away quite as easily from Voldemort's wrath. If you give me that talisman now, I will not have to hurt you. If you don't, then I will, and I have to admit that I have never liked your family and will therefore take great pleasure in doing so." Harry suddenly felt a twist in his stomach that he did not allow to show on his face. It was not the thought of fighting Draco that did it, but rather the thought that his last sentence was perfectly true.  
  
Draco seemed to understand for the first time that he wasn't dealing with the ammature from his own time. He took a step back.  
  
"I say!" cried Lucius from his bed. "But what exactly do you mean by that?"  
  
"I would tell my fool father to be silent if I was in your shoes, Draco," Harry said softly.  
  
Draco was not listening to him. He fumbled into his pocket and pulled out the talisman, holding it in his palm. It was not still and dead looking now. It pulsed and glowed with inner light as though boiling lava from Mt. Doom was inside with all the evils that came with it. Vines shot at Harry quick as lightning. Harry knew what they were this time and flames shot from his wand that had not been in his hand a split second before. The vines writhed and burnt to ash before they touched him.  
  
"You're going to have to do better than that, Draco," Harry said coldly. The room had illuminated briefly in the light from the flames and with the flames gone, it seemed darker. "You're forgetting again who I am and what I'm capable of. You hate the boy from this time, do you, for making your father loose his memory? I made your father loose his memory and trapped it so that it could never be recovered! Personally, I think I was merciful, seeing as how I murdered him in my own time!"  
  
Draco seemed to believe everything Harry was saying and the darkness only enhanced it. The talisman lifted an inch from Draco's hand and fire spun around it in a single, concentrated flame. Flashy, Harry thought, but a fool thing to do because it gave Harry time to prepare.  
  
Flames shot at him and were steamed away by a wall of water that rose suddenly from the floor. Water and flame alike vanished and Harry deemed it time to go on the offensive. In the darkness that came after the flames, Harry made himself invisible, not with magic, but by the skills he had used in stelth. He slipped along the wall quickly, knowing Draco's eyes would adjust any second.  
  
"Did you loose me?" Harry whispered quietly from his place behind Draco. Draco whirled around to look but Harry had already moved on, flicking his wand so that the darkness did not let up. This was his turf now and Draco didn't have a chance.  
  
Harry wriggled his fingers slightly, and whispered, "What's wrong? Afraid of what crawls in the dark?"  
  
Harry could not see it, but he had created the allusion of a spider. Draco yelled and wiped something invisible from his shoulder.  
  
"Draco?" asked a hesitant voice. "Draco? What's going on?"  
  
Harry held back a sigh. Idiot Lucius Malfoy was still in the room. He had forgotten.  
  
"Don't worry about it, Dad," Draco said coldly. His father's voice seemed to have restored some of his calm. "Maybe I should shine some light on the situation!"  
  
The talisman in his hand glared in blinding light that should have illuminated the entire room...but Harry's darkness was not ordinary darkness and could not be dispelled by ordinary light. Harry seized his advantage.  
  
"Do you think I don't know exactly how that thing works?" He hissed, flitting from shadow to shadow as Draco's eyes tried to see in the darkness while squinting against his light. The light dimmed until it was a soft glow. The darkness remained in tact and Draco now had a beacon leading straight to him. The fool. "Do you honestly believe that I would bring it here if I didn't know its strengths and weaknesses?"  
  
"Then why did you give it to Lupin?" Draco asked, sure he'd caught Harry in a lie. "Why did you leave something like this with him?"  
  
"Maybe I wanted you to find it," Harry said, mocking in his voice. "Don't underestimate me, Draco. Your father did that very thing. He's dead now...and so are you. You took a little longer, of course, but I got it done. Wasn't even that much of a challenge, to tell you the truth. The only problem was keeping the Ministry from finding out." Half of what he said wasn't true, but Draco didn't know that. He had not killed the Draco from his own time. He had killed a future Draco that had gone to the past after Harry had gone to the past...it was a terribly long story, but Harry's own Draco was alive...if not exactly well, rotting in Azkaban as he was.  
  
"You're not a murderer," Draco spat. "You don't have it in you! You never did!"  
  
"Want to bet?" Harry said from directly behind Draco. Draco spun and shot sparks from the talisman. Harry ducked as soon as he saw the talisman whipping around and elbowed Draco hard in the stomach, making him drop the talisman, before straightening in the same fluid movement and planting his wand at Malfoy's throat, forcing his head back.  
  
Draco's eyes widened at Harry's lightning quick movements. He stared at Harry in fear for a split second before a grin found his face. He looked Harry calmly in the eye. "So you know all the tricks, do you?" His eyes slid over Harry's shoulder and Harry's head whipped around....  
  
He was a second too late and he saw in that split second that the talisman did not require someone to hold it while it worked its magic. It was floating eye level with Harry and when Harry's eyes landed on it, it shot a beam of red energy and Harry felt the world going black. His last conscious thought before he crumpled to the floor was...'What?'  
  
A/N: Bet you can't see that marky thing either, can you? Well, I put it there, signalling that the chapter is over. See? Chapter over.  
  
Gilthas: They don't care! Just get on with the responses!  
  
Me: 'glares' I do want to point out that instead of starry things, I have now put appostrophies so you can actually see the distinguishedness between the word 'glares' and 'I'.  
  
Gilthas: 'Distinguishedness'? Is that a word?  
  
Me: Is now! I made it up on the spot and if anyone wants to bother looking it up for me in the dictionary (which I doubt) you can tell me if it really is.  
  
Gilthas: Take my word on it. It's not.  
  
Me: 'sigh'  
  
grand admiral chelli: Hehe!! I'll meantion that later...unless I decide to make you use your imagination! Mwahahahaha!!!! By gum. Nah, Harry wouldn't DRUG Ron or anything...probably just a charm. I'll meantion it later.  
  
Allizarin Sylvain Phyre: Blah to the stupid astrixes! I have no idea why they don't show up! They used to...I think... Anyway, future Harry'll snap some sense into other Harry. He's good at that kind of thing....or else hitting him until he sees sense...or stars. I'm not sure who will save Remus...if he's even saved! Nah, I like Remus, but now Harry can talk to Sirius about things...after he gets out of this little predicament! Poor Harry! After all his training...  
  
Brenna8: I'm so sorry about that! I put spaces and starry things in the original, but they cut them out when I posted! It wasn't supposed to just whip into it like that. I've actually considered labeling them something else, but don't both of them have perfect right to the name? It's not like one is less Harry than the other, and it just didn't work when I was writing it. So I left it. I have no idea why the computer is so mentally challenged and keeps bleeping out my starry things. I guess I'll have to right out 'starry things' so the computer can't possibly delete them...  
  
eruve tinwen: ...Well...Future Harry just...er...didn't do so well against the talisman. No telling where he's going to be when he wakes up. Mwahahahahaha! Stupid talisman. Stupid other Malfoy from BTBT that made it and didn't explain in depth how it worked! Gosh! What is it with friends who don't do what they're supposed to!?! I made everyone in my family where Harry Potter T-shirts for the premier. We were out of town for it so I couldn't bring my cloak...or my Gryffindor scarf. We saw it in Washington D.C. My FRIENDS, however, didn't see it AT ALL until I dragged them, kicking and screaming by their TOES! Well, metaphorically speaking. ...Just a question...but you call shoes...thongs? We...er...don't. We call something else that...and you probably do too since you felt the need to elaborate. Oh! I think we might have hit the ticket (is that an actual expression?) with the biscuit thing! Now, you can eat McMuffins (all muffins? Muffins are something different in America than a McMuffin or a biscuit) plain, with butter or honey or something? Eh...this is far too complicated. I'm concidering reposting that chapter. After all, I made the huge, terrible mistake (along with the bicsuit ) of saying DOLLARS! How American am I? Stupid! I've even BEEN to England! THAT was disgraceful...  
  
simpleinsanity: Eck! Sorry about that again! I switched Harrys in the middle of the chapter. I put starry things to seperate them, but lately, the starry things haven't been showing up!Future Harry interrogated Lucius. Present Harry was the one with Sirius at the end. I put the starry things there, I swear I did! They just...didn't show up!  
  
LOTRfan86: Oh! I'm excited now! What kind of story are you thinking of writing? LOTRs of HP? I've read both and I've got a friend obsessed with LOTRs so I know quite a lot about it. As for advice, write enough description so the readers can get the picture without drawing it out. Try to make long sentences and use long words. Oh, and be VERY careful with how much slash you use, if any. I have personally been driven off many a fanfic because I'm horrified by the slash in it... I can beta for you if you want me to when you post your chapters. Just E-mail me the chapter and I'll read through it, write some comments, and send it back!  
  
mashimaromadness: I don't think I've heard that song. Favorite group? Yeah, I think Hermione was just confused and she hadn't thought about it before. When it occured to her, she was a bit confused, is all. She's trying to put a good spin on this rather...unhappy and mean person before her, trying to fit him into the place as hero. She's having trouble though because every time she sees him or thinks of him, she thinks of him in terms of her friend, meaning that the future Harry represents everything that could have gone wrong with her friend and she sort of wishes he wasn't there to show her what would happen if the worst came. Eh...far to complicated to think of at this time of night...  
  
Darkmoon Fleur: Confusing much? Man, I had to read your review twice to understand it. 'grins' I personally don't think guilt is the ONLY reason for fighting, but Future Harry honestly does. Even after the evil had passed and there was no need to fight any more, Future Harry fought until there was nothing much left to fight for and he still kept fighting, because he couldn't forgive himself for what he'd done and he thought that if he could correct every wrong, maybe it would be okay. Even Present Harry is starting to think that he should take up the fight. Why? Because Remus got hurt and he thinks he could have prevented it. Guilt. Again. It's just Harry's way.  
  
Sara'magic: Sorry about the apostrophie. The starry thing isn't showing up at all and I felt I should put SOMETHING there to show I hadn't forgotten the star. Hey...no review? Eh. Oh well. I can forgive you...except that's its been ages since your last review! Golly Gee Whilikers! So how's the university search coming? Hey, did you know my cat had kittens? ...Don't know how you would, but still. Very cute. A yellow one, a gray one, and a white one. So...yep. Good luck with your university hunt!  
  
Me: Tadda! Next chapter's done and in good time. Uh oh! What's going to happen to Harry?  
  
Gilthas: ...he's going to die? Horribly?  
  
Me: 'elbows hard' Of course not! So anyway, I left you with a cliffy and I expect many reviews complaning about it.  
  
Gilthas: Can I go to sleep now? I'm tired.  
  
Me: Ditto. Night everyone... 


	7. The Mother of Invention

A/N: Okay, so everyone hates me because I'm a terrible author and I haven't updated since forever. But I've been writing like mad and I've even got the next chapter written so I can update!!! Whoo!!!!

Gilthas: About bloody time.

Me: Normally I would say something in my defense, but you're entire correct.

Gilthas: Am I ever wrong?

Crickets: chirp

Me: Well....

Gilthas: Oh shut up.

--------

Chapter 6: The Mother of Invention

"I haven't seen him for days," Sirius said distractedly. "And it's not as though he comes when we want him. He shows up when he wants to show up."

"I know," Hermione said, frowning slightly. "I just have this feeling... Sirius, did he say anything to you before he left?"

"Nothing," Sirius said, running his fingers through his hair as he flipped through a book.

Hermione sighed. "Listen, Sirius, if the Healers couldn't find anything, what makes you think you can?"

"The Healers aren't trying!" Sirius snapped. "You heard that Squib! You heard her! She said that they didn't want to help werewolves!" His eyes continued scanning the page in front of him. "If we only knew what was _wrong _with him..."

Hermione sat down on the couch behind him. "Sirius, you aren't helping Remus by not eating."

"I'm not hungry," Sirius said vaguely.

Hermione frowned. They had had this conversation before. "Have you eaten a thing since I asked you yesterday?"

Sirius scowled but said nothing.

Hermione stood up sharply and left for the kitchen. Pulling a rather bruised apple out of the fridge, she set it on the counter and waved her wand to get the tea started. She was just adding the tea leaves when a very disheveled Sirius walked into the room. He gave her an apologetic grin and said, "I guess I was hungrier than I thought."

Hermione gave him a sympathetic smile and set a cup of tea in front of him. She went to the counter to grab the apple.

"Sirius," she said firmly. "I want to see you eating more. You know Remus wouldn't want you to suffer for his sake."

"I'm not suffering," Sirius said around a mouthful of apple. "Remus is."

"We don't know that," Hermione said in the same firm tone.

"You can tell!" Sirius snapped. "He's clearly hurting."

Hermione sighed and took a drink of her own tea. She then set it on the table and looked Sirius in the eye. "Sirius Black, I want you to eat at least one meal a day. It isn't asking much, but I want you to promise me that you'll do it. How are we to help Remus if we're too busy looking out for you?"

Sirius frowned, but then reluctantly nodded. "One meal a day then. It's not like I don't want to eat, it's just that I don't think about it."

"Well start," Hermione said. "You've promised me now, and you've always been a man of your word."

"I'll eat!" Sirius said defensively. "No need to tell me twice."

"Good," Hermione said, nodding. "And take a shower. You smell terrible."

Sirius ignored the second comment. "What were you saying about the other Harry? I honestly wasn't paying much attention."

"That was obvious enough," Hermione said with a small smile that turned rather grave. "I haven't seen nor heard anything about him for days. I'm starting to get worried."

Sirius snorted. "If anyone can take care fo themself, that guy can."

"That's what you said about Remus," Hermione said shortly. "And something got him."

"As much as I hate to admit it, Hermione, that other Harry could wrap Remus, Ron, you, me, and half the school around his little finger at the same time."

"I notice you didn't meantion Harry," Hermione said calmly.

"he could wrap Harry around it as well," Sirius said seriously. "Just not at the same time. They may be equal in power, but this Harry knows how to use it."

"I know I shouldn't worry," Hermione said. "But I do. He hasn't disappeared for this long since I found out he was here."

Sirius sighed and downed the last of his tea. "What do you expect to do about it, Hermione? If he doesn't want to be found, no one can find him!"

"What if he does want to be found?" Hermione asked softly.

Sirius gave her a hard look. "Hermione Granger, if there is someone out there who can take down that man, then we have a bigger problem on our hands than we thought. Who do you honestly think can hurt him?"

Hermione frowned worriedly but did not answer. They were quiet for a moment before a knock on the door shattered the silence.

"Hello?" came Ron's voice.

"Come on in," Sirius called.

Ron appeared in the doorway, looking rather releived to see Sirius up and about. "Glad to see you not rotting away," he said cheerfully. Then his nose wrinkled. "Though the smell suggests otherwise."

Sirius frowned and Hermione broke in quickly. "We were just talking about Remus, Ron."

"What else would Sirius talk about?" Ron asked, pulling up a chair and sitting down. Something about his attitude made Hermione look at him sideways, but his height said he was still Ron and she could see worry mixed with relief in his eyes. Not Harry. This really was Ron.

"I don't smell that bad," Sirius said frowning.

Ron raised his eyebrows. "Tkae a shower, Sirius."

Despite himself, Sirius smiled slightly.

"So, any new leads?" Ron asked, wiping the smile from Sirius's face as neatly as a rag wipes up a spill.

"Nothing," Hermione said. "And unless we can get Remus to tell us what hit him, we're pretty much out of luck." Suddenly she froze, her eyes widening. "That's it," she whispered. "I've just figured out how we can help Remus."

"Will he even show up?" Sirius asked nervously, running his hands through his messy hair.

"He has to," Hermione said firmly. "I'm not powerful enough to perform the spell myself."

"What if you have to?" Sirius asked.

Hermione looked at him firmly. "Then I will. But I hope Harry show up some time. I do not fancy performing this myself."

"I'll do it if he doesn't show up," Sirius muttered.

Hermione said nothing, but inside she was sure that if that future Harry didn't show up again, she would not let Sirius do it. He had not read about this spell. It could kill you as much as save Remus and you had to go in with a calm head.

"I will be his guide," Hermione muttered.

"What?" Sirius asked.

Hermione blinked out of her thoughts and looked at Sirius. "His guide. A person has to be in the room with him when he performs the spell. They will act as his guide. That's all it says and I can't find anything else about it."

"I can do that," Sirius said.

Hermione looked him firmly in the eye and shook her head. "I know more about this than you, Sirius. If you want to help Remus, you're going to have to trust me."

Sirius frowned. "It sounds like not even you know that much about it. You just found this in the library one day?"

Hermione sighed. "I've had this book for ages, Sirius. I've read it twice and I've read other books like it. I know everything I can about it...except for what it entails. I can perform it to perfection, but as to what happens _exactly_," she shrugged uncomfortably. "All it says about that is, 'each experience is different, but one must have a guide to lead them through it.'. I would doubtlessly be the best guide."

"I know Remus better," Sirius argued.

"There are no qualifications for the guide. They can be anyone. I know the most about the spell so it has to be me."

Sirius muttered something that Hermione did not catch. He raised his voice. "What if he does not show up?"

"We just went through that, Sirius," Hermione said patiently.

Sirius blinked. "Oh, right."

"He will show up, Sirius. Knowing him, he'll already know what's going on and have everything we need in place."

There was a knock at the door.

"Come in."

Messy black hair and bright green eyes looked in at her. It took Hermione a moment (and a cring that it was true) to realize that it was not the person she wanted to see. She smiled anyway and carelessly closed her book, mentally wincing that she would have to re-find her page.

"Hey, Harry! This is a surprise. What brings you to Sirius's house?"

"Came to see him," Harry said, looking suspiciously at Hermione and Sirius, who was looking far too innocent. "Did I walk in on something I shouldn't have?"

"The usual," Hermione said with a reassuring grin. "Sirius doesn't want to put his books down. I finally managed to get him something to eat and the next second he wants to go back to his books." Sirius scowled at her. She was not about to tell her friend, however. Sirius could scowl all he wanted to, but he had not been there that night. He had not seen the elation in Harry's eyes when he realized that Voldemort was dead, that he wouldn't have to fight anymore. She wasn't going to break that now.

Harry seemed put at ease at that. "I come bearing food," he said pulling something out of his pocket. It was a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. "It's not much, but I figured if I could slip out into Sirius's tea, he might wake up a bit."

Hermione laughed and even Sirius smiled a bit. As nonchalauntly as she could, she placed her book on Sirius's shelf and turned back to Harry.

"Come on then, I haven't had any in ages. I don't let my students eat them so I don't have any at school."

"Tragic," Harry said. He dropped them on the table. "I heard they had a new flavour, too."

"What's that?" Hermione asked, reaching into the bag to pull one out.

"No idea," Harry said shrugging. "I just heard about it." He sighed as he popped one into his own mouth. "Sausage. I just had sausage for breakfast."

Hermione smiled. Sirius had just opened his mouth to tell them which one he had just eaten when the door opened and Ron came in yelling, "I've got the herbs you asked me to get Hermione! Not sure what I need--" He dropped off when he saw Harry. Hermione was horrified to see that he assumed the guiltiest expression on his face.

"Tea," Sirius said hastily at the same time Hermione said, "New potion I'm trying..."

Harry's mouth opened slightly. Hermione could see hurt in his eyes and she cringed inwardly.

"Listen, Harry," she said calmly. "It's not that--"

"Don't worry about it," Harry said calmly. "Hey, if you want to do stuff without me, I don't care really."

"Harry! It's not like-"

"I said it doesn't bother me," Harry said firmly, standing up from his seat. "I just have some...stuff that I need to finish."

"Don't go!" Ron said hastily. "It's not like it's that important anyway."

Harry waved him off. "I have stuff to do."

Ron opened his mouth to protest, but closed it when Harry brushed by him to the door. He paused before he went out. "It's good to see you doing something, Sirius."

Sirius managed a smile. "You know me."

Harry snorted in laughter, but even from her distance Hermione could tell it was forced. "Too well." He left then leaving a rather oppressive silence.

Finally Hermione cleared her throat. "You have the herbs, Ron?"

Sirius rounded on her. "Why can't we tell Harry?"

Hermione stared back calmly. "He has made it perfectly clear that he has no wish to involve himself with the Death Eaters."

Sirius frowned. "He's starting to come around! We're going to need his help! Especially since Harry hasn't shown up--"

Hermione elbowed him hard in the ribs.

"What?" Ron asked. "That made no sense."

"Slip of the tongue," Sirius grumbled, shooting an annoyed look at Hermione.

Ron might have accepted the lie had it not been for Sirius's sullen tone. "You're keeping something from me, aren't you?" he said incredulously. "What did you mean, 'Harry hasn't shown up'?"

"Nothing, Ron," Hermione said, smiling nicely and trying to divert him. "You say you have the herbs-"

"Not this time," Ron said frowning. "Why would you keep something from _me, _Hermione?"

Hermione winced. The tone was not accusitory, it was...hurt. She swallowed and looked at Sirius. "It's not that I didn't want to tell you, Ron. It's just not our secret to tell."

The hurt had carried from his voice to his eyes now and Hermione's stomach knotted. "Has Harry been helping or something? Did he not want me to know?"

"No!" Hermione said quickly. Then she grimaced. "And yes, I suppose, but not in the way you mean."

Ron turned his puzzled gaze to Sirius. "So he hasn't been helping and he doesn't want me to know that he's not helping?"

Hermione sighed. "I suppose it's too late to try to cover it up now. Ron, it's not the Harry you think we're talking about that's been helping."

"Someone at Hogwarts?" Ron guessed.

"No," Hermione said, shaking her head. "He's...the Harry from the future."

"What?" Ron asked, looking at her as though he suspected a joke. "Like a Time-Turner?"

"Nothing like that," Hermione said. "He hasn't come from a few hours. He's come from five years. And I suppose 'future' is the wrong word. He's not from this dimension. I mean, he was from this dimension but five years ago he came back to this time and, from what I can tell, accidentally changed it. Then he went back and his own dimension was still unchanged. Then he came again, except now, since his own world is different from this one, it's a different dimension, but while 5 years have passed here, only a few days passed there, so everything that happened five years ago seems like yesterday to him..." Hermione trailed off. Ron was looking at her disbelievingly.

"Are you making this up?"

"She's not," Sirius said resignedly. "He's far more powerful than the Harry you know. Far. He can do things by himself that it would take ten ordinary wizards and witches to do combined. Twenty!"

"Why haven't I heard of him?" Ron asked, flabbergaust. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"We told you!" Sirius said. "It wasn't our secret to tell. Now, if we're done chatting, we have more important things to do, like finding out what's wrong with Remus."

Ron looked like he wanted to say more, but he kept his mouth shut. Hermione guessed by the set of his mouth that he was going to talk to her about it later. She sighed and pulled the book back off the shelf where she had put it. Flipping hurriedly through the pages, she stopped at the one she had lost.

"When can we do this?" Ron asked.

"At midnight when the moon's at half quarter."

"Then we've only got about three nights to do it before Remus gets hurt because of the full moon."

"Exactly," Hermione said firmly. "That means Harry _must _show up before that time."

"And if he doesn't?" Sirius demanded. "What then?"

"Then," Hermione said in a voice of forced calm. "Then I will do it for him."


	8. The Tip of the Iceburg

Chapter 7: The Tip of the Iceburg

The days wore on and Hermione became increasingly nervous. She reread the spell a dozen times to make sure she had it memorized and then reread it a dozen times in a vain attempt to shake off the sense of unease she always felt when she thought about it. She had begun snapping at anyone who asked her something that they should already know, which meant she was snapping at Ron and Sirius quite a lot. They, like she, were uneasy about it and apparently decided to do exactly as Hermione, except by asking her constant questions instead of reading it.

At noon on the third day, Ron approached Hermione with a look of determination on his face.

"I can't let you go through with this."

Hermione sighed. "No one else can do it."

"I can," Ron said. "Sirius can!"

"Neither of you know the spell and time has run out for you to learn it. You have to trust me, Ron."

"I do trust you!" Ron said emphatically. "I just don't want you to get hurt!"

"I'm not going to get hurt," Hermione said in what she hoped was a reassuring tone. In all honestly she had no idea whether or not she would get hurt but Ron didn't need to know that. "I know all I can know about this spell and nothing in it says anything about getting hurt or trials you have to take." Actually, the book said nothing at all about what it would portain, just that it would do what she wanted it to do. She really was telling white lies today.

Ron sighed and sat down at one of the desks in her classroom. "Why don't you tell me more about this future Harry that never showed up?"

"He may yet," Hermione pointed out. She was actually quite worried about him, and while her brain told her that it was ridiculous, her heart told her otherwise. Why had he never shown up? Surely he knew that they needed his help. He always seemed to pop up when you least expected him to and knowing more than you expected he would. Only he hadn't yet...

"Forget it, Hermione," Ron said. "We should just accept the fact that he's not going to show. And why would he? No one told him what was going on."

Hermione sighed. Ron simply did not know this other Harry well enough yet. No one ever told him anything, but he always seemed to know everything anyway.

"Why don't we go get some lunch," Ron suggested standing up. "Talk somewhere where the chairs _aren't _much smaller than I remember them being."

"I have work to do," Hermione said. In truth she simply did not want to go eat with Ron. She knew that if she did, he would talk her out of doing what she knew she had to do.

Ron sighed and nodded. He made to leave, but when he reached the door, Hermione stopped him.

"Ron?" He turned back. "Will you be my guide?"

He looked at her for a second and for the briefest instant, Hermione thought he was going to say no, instead he said calmly, "Hermione, you know I'll always be there to guide you."

She relaxed and smiled. "Thanks."

"No problem," Ron said. He smiled back. "Tonight then?"

"Tonight," Hermione agreed.

Hermione swallowed hard. "I can do it."

Ron looked at her worriedly. "Are you sure? This is very advanced magic, Hermione."

Hermione's eyes flashed. "Well we clearly can't ask Harry, can we? We know what he'll say!"

"He'd do it," Ron said stubbornly. "I know he would. It's for Remus, after all."

Hermione sighed and nodded. "I'm sorry I snapped, Ron. I'm just so nervous. Besides, Harry's already made it perfectly clear that he doesn't want anything to do with the Death Eaters."

"He would do it," Ron said stubbornly.

"I know he would," Hermione said. "But you weren't there, Ron. You didn't see the look on his face..."

Ron frowned. Hermione knew she should hold her tongue, but she was so scared that she had trouble. She had never, out of respect for Harry, told Ron anything about the night Harry had defeated Voldemort.

"What happened?" Ron asked carefully.

"It's nothing," Hermione said briskly. "If we're to do this, we should get it over with."

Ron's face suddenly set very hard and he stared at Hermione so calmly and firmly that she blinked. "We have been quiet too long, Hermione. This is serious now. If there's something I should know, I want to know it. People have gotten hurt over what they don't know. I'm not about to let someone else get hurt."

"It's nothing to do with this," Hermione said firmly. "It's Harry's business. If he wants to talk--"

"He won't bloody talk!" Ron said angrily. Hermione had expected everyone's nerves to be on end during this occasion, but even she was having trouble controlling her nerves. "He'll never say anything! I'm tired of being the friend left out! The only bloody person who doesn't understand his pain!"

"Watch your language, Ron," Hermione said, but her heart wasn't in it. "There's no time for this. I'll loose my nerve if we don't do it now."

Ron looked about to argue but one look at Remus's still form convinced him to drop the subject. "I think I should do it."

"You don't know the incantation," Hermione said automatically. "Only I can do it. The clock is ticking and Remus could be dying as we speak."

"Are you sure this will work?" Ron asked.

"I'm not sure about anything," Hermione whispered. "But we have to know, Ron. If we can't wake him up, at least we will be able to protect ourselves from whatever hit him."

"What if it sucks you inside well?"

"It's a risk I'm willing to take," Hermione said firmly.

"What-," Ron swallowed hard. He seemed to have a hard time talking. "What if I don't want you to risk it?"

Hermione smiled up with him, a tight smile. Her heart went out to Ron, but she had to do this and he knew it. "I can take care of myself."

"I know you can," Ron said firmly. "I--I just don't think you should risk it."

"I can do it," Hermione said firmly. She drew herself up firmly and said calmly, "Did you bring the herbs, Ron?"

Ron sighed and nodded. He pulled a small pouch of his pocket and handed it to Hermione. Hermione took it with trembling fingers that she tried to hold steady. She knew that Ron saw right through her act, but she wasn't trying to convince Ron. She was trying to convince herself.

She opened the pouch and a pecular scent wafted up to her. Nodding in satisfaction, she reached in and scooped up a handful. Careful not to let any slip between her fingers, she sprinkled a bit on Remus's unmoving forehead. Meshing the rest between her palms, she wiped a matching line across her own forehead.

She looked straight ahead, all too aware of Ron watching her worriedly. "Remember," she said, not looking at him. "I may need you to pull me back."

"Don't worry," Ron said.

Hermione swallowed and took a step forward. Ever so gently, she placed her fingertips on the herbs sprinkling Remus's forehead. She closed her eyes.

Cold filled her so completely that she was only dimly aware of her mouth opening in a gasp, so consumed as she was in the icy barrior of absolute cold. She barely felt her lips moving in the memorized chant. Firmly, she made herself mentally push the cold away and as she did, she became more aware of her body around her. Her words faultered.

_No..._Hermione thought. She was breaking the tiny connection she already had. Steeling herself, she pulled the cold back, embracing it until she though she would die from its freezing cold...and quite suddenly, it stopped.

She felt her body around her again, but it seemed Remus's forehead had vanished beneath her. Opening her eyes in surprise, she was surprised to find herself in a house. It was Remus's house.

"Do you know where you are?"

She whirled around. Ron was standing before her, no longer nervous looking, but calm and collected. She swallowed and tried to acheive the same look.

"I do."

"Do you now?" a slight smile quirked Ron's lips. It was his appearance down to his toenails, but it was not his mind behind that face and she knew it.

"I am inside Remus Lupin's mind," Hermione said with assurance.

Ron laughed aloud. "Is that so? It has been long since someone has called me forward. Perhaps memory has died with the last visitor."

"No," Hermione said, trying to hide her confusion. "I have read everything I can about this spell. I am inside Remus's mind."

"Don't be a fool," said the person in Ron's form sharply. "Do you think the mind is a house like this miserable little shack? Something you can just walk into? You think sprinkling a few herbs and saying a few words can take you deep inside the skull of a human being? In his mind, you say? You are barely standing on the surface of his brain, to speak metaphorically, seeing the bare tip of the iceberg! The mist over the lake! The bark on an ancient tree!"

"I get it!" Hermione said hurriedly. "How can I find Remus here? How do I get further, bury deeper?"

"Try a shovel," said the person behind Ron's face in disgust. "I will not help those that come in ignorance."

"I won't leave here until you help me!" Hermione said stubbornly. "I must know what is wrong with him!"

"Then you will never leave!" Ron snapped. "Expect no help from me!"

Hermione's jaw set stubbornly, but slowly she took in her surroundings. "Why am I here? Why this place of all places?"

"Fool," Ron muttered. "For centuries I wait and all I get is a fool."

Hermione was not paying attention. "You say I am barely on the surface. If that were true, doubtlessly I would be in the hospital. That is probably the surface of his brain. Unless he is asleep. Then perhaps this is a dream."

The man with Ron's face said nothing and Hermione did not expect an answer.

"If this is a dream, then Remus should be here."

Ron snorted.

Hermione sent him a cool look. "But dreams are deeply inside the subconscious. I am on the surface. This is probably the most basic of his senses, the mere surface of what he's thinking."

Hermione did not look at Ron, but she had the impression he was watching her and shaking his head.

Hermione frowned. "Surface of his mind or no, there must be a reason I was brought here."

"Unless there isn't," Ron said with amusement.

Hermione ignored him completely and began to walk around. "A reason. This is where he was attacked. There must be a reason he would bring me here."

"You do know that you're not powerful enough for this spell," Ron said, laying down on the couch so that he took it up completely.

"I was powerful enough to get here, wasn't I?" Hermione asked, still looking around the room.

Ron snorted. "Doesn't take much effort to get here."

"I am powerful enough," Hermione said.

"Why didn't you ask someone who did have the power to do it?" Ron asked. Hermione looked at him sharply, but he had his arms behind his head and was staring at the ceiling.

"Like who?"

"Don't think of me as a fool," he snapped. In one quick movement he was on his feet, staring at her. For an instant she saw tiny souls reflected in his eyes, souls shrieking in agony. Then he blinked and his anger visibly faded. His eyes returned to normal, but Hermione did not forget them. Who was this person?

"Not a person," Ron said, sitting back down on the couch. "Then again, if you'd done proper research, you would have known that."

Hermione's mouth opened slightly in surprise. "Can you...read my thoughts?"

Ron laughed. "This is your mind! The words you speak and your thoughts come through just as clear for me. So answer the question properly.

"What question?"

Ron's jaw set in a way that said he was getting tired of her stupidity. "The question I asked before."

Hermione was distinctly of the impression that he was not going to repeat it but expected an answer. She cast her mind around and found it. "Oh. Harry never showed up. We couldn't find him."

"Of course you couldn't," Ron said with another snort of laughter. "He's rather...indisposed, isn't he?"

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked quickly, her heart rate quickening. What in the world could make that Harry 'indisposed'?

"Why didn't you ask the other Harry?"Ron asked. "He's just as powerful, even if most of that power is yet untapped."

"He doesn't want to be involved in this."

"Do you think this is a game?" Ron asked. "You have barely enough power at this point in time to keep from burning yourself out!"

"One is born with a certain amount of power," Hermione said. "I alone could perform the spell so I alone had to have done it."

"So use an _angreal_," Ron said with an amused grin as though it were an inside joke.

"A what?" Hermione asked blankly.

Ron sighed and his smile vanished. "Here I thought you knew how to read. Never mind then. Are you quite done? There so much to be done right about now that I really should be doing something else."

"You wouldn't even exist if it wasn't for me," Hermione said vaguely, her eyes went back to roaming around the room.

"Don't be ridiculous," Ron said in a tone that suggested the conversation was barely holding his attention. "I have always existed. You have simply called my presence for a short period of time."

"But you cannot leave until I do," Hermione said, bending down to pick up a book. "Such detail," she muttered. "For the mere surface of the brain."

Ron snorted in laughter. "If someone feeds and takes care of your body until you die of old age, it will matter not to me. A simple human life is such a tiny thing compared to the great scheme of things. Short lived and pathetically lived, doing nothing with your lives that will truely last. Or-" he let out a bark of laughter. "You make something that does last, but is utterly _useless! _Stonehedge for example! Such a simple-minded race you are! One little comment about how worthless you are and you go and stack a bunch of rocks on top of each other! As though that proves something!" He laughed again, but Hermione was ignoring him completely. Something had just caught her attention.

A small round ball was sitting on the neat desk, looking quite odd and out of place. "What is it?" she whispered. Carefully, she reached out to pick it up. The second it touched her finger, vines shot out and wrapped themselves around her. She screamed.

The vines seemed to be alive, reaching for her, wrapping around her and binding her tightly. Pain flashed through her as two vines shot at her face, burrying themselves into her eyes, blinding her and making their way to her brain. Darkness filled her...

Her eyes opened and she sat up straight. She was lying on the floor of a completely white room, but instead of there being plain walls, they were slashed as though a monster had been let loose and ravaged it. She looked around wildly and saw Ron leaning lazily against one wall.

"What was that?" she gasped, unable to stop herself from reaching up and touching what she almost expected to be ruined eyes. They were whole. There was only a dull aching behind her eyes.

"You asked the right question," Ron said with a shrug.

Hermione got to her feet, swaying slightly as her world seemed to spin. "The right question? Where am I? What is this place? Why am I here now?"

Ron raised his eye brows.

"Good morning!" said a cheerful voice behind her. "How was your night?"

"My what?" Hermione asked blankly, looking at the woman in confusion. She blinked and realized that she was no longer herself. She was the height of a child and it was certainly a child's voice that came from her throat. She turned to where Ron was and saw that she had to look up at him. A startled exclamation came from her throat and she wheeled back to the woman who had come through a door she had not seen.

"You night, child," said the woman kindly. She was wearing a mediwizard's robes. She bent down and felt Hermione's forehead. "It's okay now. We heard you screaming half the night, but there was nothing we could do. At least you don't remember it."

She took Hermione's arm very gently and lifted up her shrunken robe. Hermione gasped and jerked it out of the woman's grasp, taking a step back as she looked at her arm.

There were teeth marks and sratches all over it. Suddenly she felt acute pain all over her body and dropped to stinging knees. She bit back tears and felt her face, which was scratched when she had been sure it hadn't been before. Her body hurt all over as though she had been ripped to shreds and hastily put back together again.

"Don't worry, dear," said the woman kindly, but with a hint of worry. We'll have these cleaned and tended to." She wasn't using magic though. She took a gentle cloth and applied alcohol. Gently but firmly, she took Hermione's arm and dabbed it with the cloth. The stinging pain that followed brought tears to her eyes. In a chocking voice she asked, "Wh-What ha-happened to m-me?"

The woman looked at her calmly. "Please, child. Don't make this harder on yourself."

"It hurts, doesn't it?" asked a voice close to her ear. She looked up into Ron's face. The woman was ignoring him completely, as if he wasn't there.

"Wh-What's wr-wr-wrong with m-me?" Hermione asked, trying to control the sobs that now wracked her body. The wounds were so deep and painful and try as this woman might, she was simply not gentle enough.

"There's something blocking the werewolf's mind. You've run into it."

"Wh-What d-d-do you m-mean?" Hermione said, tears steaming down her face as she tried not to jerk her arm away from the woman with the stinging solution.

"It could be a block of his own making," Ron said calmly. "He might not want you inside."

Hermione shook her head hard, trying to control her tears, but it hurt so much...

"Or perhaps someone else doesn't want you in his mind."

Hermione gasped, her tears faultering for a moment in her shock. "Th-That talisman! What was it?"

Ron said nothing, his lips curved into a sardonic smile.

"Wh-Where am I then?" Hermione asked, wincing and gulping tears as the woman moved to her other arm, her first one a solid wall of stinging bandage. "I-I have to b-be somewhere. Am I st-still in Remus's m-mind?

Ron sighed and put on the long-suffering tone of someone who had explained something a hundred times and was tired of the student not paying attention. Hermione knew it well as she herself used it often. "The mind more complex than teaching a Muggle a hovering charm and more simple than human intelligence--and about as impossible too. No, Hermione Granger, this is not the mind of Remus Lupin. This is the mind of Hermione Granger."

They were only words, but at the sound of them, the room came into sharper focus, the pain became more acute and the woman's alcohol stung more sharply.

"M-My mind?" Hermione repeated, dumb-founded. "B-But I--" she broke off, took firm control of herself, and wiped her tears on the bandage of her finished arm. "I didn't want to come to my own mind!"

"Don't be a fool," Ron snapped. Then he appeared to reconcider. "Perhaps it is too late for that. But try to think on your feet a little. There's a block. That block is trying to prevent you from getting into the werewolf's mind. Thus far it had been successful. It can't push you into nothing, so where can it push you?"

"This isn't my mind!" Hermione protested, tears filling her eyes again. She wiped them away, controlled herself again, and went on. "Last time I checked, it didn't hurt so much!"

"Are you sure?" Ron asked calmly. "When was the last time you _really _checked?"

Hermione stared down at her paining arms. Blood from the cuts was beginning to seep through. "Why would I do this to myself?"

"Why indeed," Ron said disapprovingly. "But I can't tell you. It doesn't work that way. It's amazingly simple. Or, perhaps for someone with your limited intelligence, it's amazingly complex. Why don't you take a look around?" He nodded in the direction of the door the woman had come through.

"Who is she then?" Hermione asked, trying to change the subject.

A small, knowing smile touched Ron's lips. "She is the one tending the wounds."

"But she's not a Muggle," Hermione said, not defensive, but trying to understand. "Why isn't she using magic?"

"If the healings of the mind were as easy as the healings of the body, everyone would do it."

Hermione did not want to go through that door. She was rather afraid of what was behind it. "Do I have to work out my own problems before I work out Remus's?"

"No," Ron said shortly. "And normally I would tell you to ignore it, but by the look of you, you'd die of blood loss."

"I have to hurry and get this done," Hermione said. "I have to finish before the full moon. I don't have time to heal myself."

"It's not my problem if you die," Ron said dismissively. "What's one human life in the overall scheme of things? You will die, however, before you get anywhere close to where you need to be."

Hermione swallowed hard.

She brushed the mediwizard aside. She did not resist, but she looked at Hermione in surprise.

"It's about time," she muttered.

Every step stung, but Hermione reached the door. With a determined grunt, she pulled. Nothing happened. Ignoring Ron's sniggers, she pushed.

A/N: Tadda! See? I'm not unreliable. It's Friday and that's my usual updating day! Or, it was before summer vacation.

Gilthas: Glad to see you've gotten back into the swing of things.

Me: I have. Sort of. I've got a lot of work to do this year, but I promise that I WILL NOT leavet his story incomplete and if I start another one, it will be finished too.

Gilthas: Yay! That makes me happy!

Phath: Ditto!

Me: Ga! stuffs Phath's head into a box You didn't see that!

Gilthas: Quick! Go to reviewer response!

LuminescentWings0127: I have and that makes me happy!

The Best witch of all: I'm trying to write as fast as I can! I have another chapter after this and I hope I can write more soon!

Lady-of-the-Dragon-Flame: Yay! I'm keeping you in suspense about what happened to Future Harry, aren't I? More will be revealed in the next chapter. I like to make these mind chapters because I think the human mind is really cool. Hey, I was thinking of another one after this one that's going to be in Future Harry's world. It's only a plan so far, but I hope I can write it. I really like to write these demensional ones and that one's going to be really interesting in that way without another time travel. :)

grand admiral chelli: Hehehehe! I'm not telling you what happened to Future Harry! More will be revealed about what happened to him in future chapters. I don't think it explains it next chapter, but it does in one of the next ones!!!

RunningInCircles: Me too! I hope I can keep updating!

shadow-n-the-dark: Yeah, I don't like this one as much as my other two stories. That's probably why I haven't been writing as much. As soon as I finish this one though (and it's going to be shorter than the others) I can work on a different story that I've been looking foreward to! Stick with me!! Please!

megan: Yay! Did you read them all? That's awesome! I'm going to update a bit more now that I have more time. I was just never there this summer and it took me a while to get going this year. I have more time to write now though so expect more updates!

Robbly: I feel special! It's been 3 months since your last written reveiw? That's crazy! It's a new chapter, but no Harry in it! This is something I've never done before. Normally I stick only with Harry and never go to anyone else except for once in a blue moon. Now it's all centering on Hermione! gasp! Don't worry. Harry's story will pop up next chapter or so! Okay, I've updated! Now you update your story!

A/N: Okay, crisis averted.

Gilthas: How did he get in here?

Me: No idea. Just forget it happened.

Gilthas: Right! So everyone reveiw!


	9. Reopening Wounds

A/N: Hey all!!! Okay, so it's been a while, but I'm still writing!!!

Gilthas: grumbles Barely...

Me: glares You know what I've been trying to do lately, juggling so many classes. I barely have time. Still, it's a four day weekend so I can write all I want!!!!

Gilthas: Yay!

Me: Woot! Oh, this chapter is really quite long. I was thinking of making it two chapters, but it's been forever since I updated so I thought I'd just get it all out there. Okay, so read!

Chapter 8: Reopening Wounds

Hermione found herself sitting in her bedroom, a book propped open in her lap. _NEWT_? Why would she have a book titled--

Death Eaters burst into her room. A binding spell was on her before she could say a word. She made for her window, screaming in terror but no sound coming from her mouth. The Death Eaters grabbed her roughly and pulled her toward the door. Too late came her mother's scream.

"Get out of here! Run for your life! RUN!"

Hermione twisted and writhed but the Death Eater's grips were like iron. They dragged her into the hall, kicking and screaming with as much trouble as they would have an empty sack.

Hermione wrenched herself from the memory and quite suddenly she was sitting back in that white room with its slashed walls and the pain of her wounds pounded in her ears. Blood seeped through the bandages, turning them red in an instant.

"The wounds have opened," muttered the mediwitch worriedly. "Oh dear, you do know how to make things hard on yourself."

"What was that?" Hermione gasped as the woman began replacing her bandages. The woman did not answer, but Ron, leaning against the torn wall, did.

"Memories, idiot. Memories. What did you think you were trying to heal? A broken leg? A hurt arm? This is your mind, you foolish girl. If you cannot venture into your own mind without opening forgotten wounds, how do you expect to venture into someone elses? Someone who's pain is far greater than yours? Was he in your position, he wouldn't be able to stand, let alone walk! How do you expect to do anything if you can't face a bunch of worthless Death Eaters?"

"They killed my parents!" Hermione yelled at him. "They killed them right in front of me, then they left me there, alive so I could--"

"Alive," Ron shot. "Alive and well without a mark on you. And yet you dishonor their memory by crying over it, so many years after. Do you think they want to be that knife wound in your gut? Do you think they want your only memory of them to be their deaths? The world keeps turning, Hermione Granger, and trust me when I say, so-do-you."

Hermione jerked defiantly to her feet, the mediwitch twittering and muttering in disapprovement about the wounds never getting better with her jumping around. Hermione felt slightly woosy from lost blood but she stood straight and tall. Spinning on her heal, she walked to the door, pushing it open.

Hermione twisted and writhed but the Death Eater's grip was like iron. Suddenly one seemed to get angry with her and whipped out his wand. Hermione fliched away and the next second she was frozen up completely. The Death Eaters dragged her down the stairs.

Her mother was screaming something. It didn't regesture in her brain. She made it down the stairs and suddenly, with a snap, her limbs regained their ability to move. She struggled again but she could not break free. She was stuck and she would die.

"Spare my daughter!" shouted her father as her mother fell to her knees sobbing. "She has done nothing! Please, spare her!"

"She's a filthy Mudblood!" Lucius Malfoy shouted. Hermione felt rage build in her. Malfoy. Idiot Malfoy. Too blind to see that blood had nothing to do with anything.

Hermione watched, for the second time in her life, something that no one in the world should have to see once. She felt her heart hardening against these Death Eaters and her resolve to fight grow stronger. When it was over, her memory self fell to her knees sobbing, clutching her dead parents, holding them close, praying that their bodies never go cold.

She opened her eyes and found herself in that damned white room. It was the same. The walls were still torn and her arms still ached. Suddenly she was on her side, her head spinning as something hit her hard in the side.

Gasping and opening her eyes, she looked up to see Ron standing over her, anger open on his face.

"Idiot!" he yelled. "Don't you see what you did wrong?"

"What?" Hermione asked in disbelief. "What did I do?"

"Wasting my bloody time with a bloody idiot," muttered Ron, glaring at her. "You still don't see, do you? Look at your arm! Look at your wounds!"

Hermione peeled the bandages off, ignoring a tsking sounds from the mediwitch. "They're scabbed!" Hermione said wonderingly. "That means they're healing!"

Ron looked at her in disbelief. "What the hell are you on about? I suppose it's simply been too long and I've forgotten about the sheer stupidity of the human race. If they were healing, fool, they would be healed! You've scabbed them over!"

"What does that mean?" Hermione asked. "I thought scabs were natures way of healing things!"

Ron looked at her as though she was singally the stupidest creature he had ever seen. "She's a mediwitch, idiot! Even a witch should know that when a mediwitch heals something, it's gone!"

"Then why is it scabbed?" Hermione asked stubbornly.

Ron sighed and assumed an expression of complete patience, as one would with a very small child. "Would you like to see an example?"

"Yes, please," Hermione said stubbornly.

"I was being sarcastic," Ron said, dropping his calm facade.

"I don't care," Hermione said. "Please explain to me why a scab means it isn't healing."

Ron suddenly looked thoughtful. "I'll do better than that. I'll kill two birds with one stone, as the human saying goes. Look."

Hermione turned around and saw an exceptionally small boy, lying on the ground, covered from head to toe in bandages and casts. Her breath caught as she saw messy black hair peaking out from under a bandage wrapped around his head.

With a small moan, the tiny, frail boy pushed himself to his feet. He wobbled unsteadily and looked at Hermione in confusion.

"Hello, little girl," he said. "Where did you come from?" Suddenly he seemed to stiffen. He put a small, bandaged hand to his face. "What's going on?" Though still a very small boy and still wrapped in bandages under his robes, he managed to portray an edge of readiness. "Who are you and how did you get me here? Ron?" he asked, seeing the guide in Ron's form. Indead of relaxing at the sight of him, he seemed to stiffen more, even under the bandages!

"Harry?" Hermione asked uncertainly. "How are you feeling?"

"Buzz off," Harry said. Hermione was taken aback and a little annoyed by the fact that he had said that to her and because he had managed to put command into that little boy's voice.

"_Excuse _me?" Hermione asked. "If you'd listen for a minute, I might be able to explain it to you."

Harry appeared to raise his eyebrows, but it was hard to tell with the bandage wrapped around his head. "If I have a question for you, little girl, I'll ask. You have my permission to completely ignore me until that time comes."

"It's Hermione, you dolt!" Hermione snapped. "And don't call me 'little girl' because you're just as young yourself!"

Harry's expression did not change at Hermione's words, but she had the impression he was thinking fast. Suddenly it seemed to click. "You didn't." There was little emotion in the words at all. His eyes were full of comprehension as they landed on Ron and, with a sigh, proceeded to unwrap the bandages that covered his head.

"This was a stupid mistake, Hermione Granger," he said calmly. He finished with his head bandage and Hermione saw a hard scab underneath it. He proceeded to unwrap his arms. "A stupid mistake. You're not powerful enough for this spell."

"So I've been told repeatedly," Hermione snapped.

"So why did you do it?" Harry asked calmly. Hermione was struck by how small he was. He looked like a tiny boy, but his eyes told differently and his voice held a calm assurance that no small child could imitate.

"Remus," Hermione said. "I had to know what hit him."

"A talisman," Harry said calmly. He had finished with his bandages and Hermione had trouble looking at him. His arms seemed like one big scab and his head looked like it had been hit painfully. He looked at her fresh scab and a small chuckle poked through. "Surpressing your feelings, now, Herm? Never expected that of you."

"Yeah, well, at least I'm not bleeding all over the floor," Hermione said. Something about his words suddenly clicked in. Surpressing her feelings. So that was why it was scabbed over and not healed.

"Be better if you were," Harry said calmly. "You should never have performed this spell. You're not powerful enough."

"So _he _keeps telling me," Hermione said, her lips a thin line. She jerked her head at Ron. Harry seemed suddenly at the edge of readiness again as he looked at Ron.

"I wouldn't say such a thing to him," Harry said quietly. "Do you have any idea who he is?"

"He's my guide," Hermione said, suddenly uneasy.

"No," Harry said. "He's more than just a guide. He's more than just a component made from magic. He holds your very life in his hands every second that you are here. Every second you're not here. I would be nice to him, Hermione. Very nice."

Hermione glanced at Ron uneasily. "I-I didn't mean to offend."

Ron snorted but said nothing. He was looking at Harry.

"So what are we doing here?" Harry asked. His eyes roamed over the mediwitch and dismissed her. Then they traveled over the room. They avoided Ron, Hermione noticed. Something cold crept into her stomach. What in the world would Harry, _this _Harry avoid looking at?

"Trying to help Remus," Hermione said,trying to keep her voice steady.

"Is this his mind?" Harry asked.

"No," Hermione said quietly. "It's mine."

Harry's eyes darted to her and she had the impression that he was weighing her on a pair of scales. Then they moved and she tried not to exhale in relief.

"Never thought of you as the slashed up type," Harry said. "Always thought your little mind was perfect."

"I resent that," Hermione said coldly. "And if you thought so, you were obviously deluded. Perhaps if you had spent more time trying to figure things out and less of it not being where you needed to be--"

"Trust me," Harry said, his eyes not landing on her, "If I could have been anywhere else, I would have been there."

Ron snorted but said nothing. Hermione expected Harry to give him a look, but he didn't. He didn't even look at him.

"What happened to you?" Hermione asked softly.

Harry's eyes flashed at her. "What did you expect? You don't have any idea what my life was like."

"I mean," Hermione said more firmly. "Where did you go?"

Harry said nothing for a moment. Suddenly a drop of blood dribbled down his temple. He cursed (which sounded decidedly odd coming from the small child) and wiped it away.

It was at that moment that the most astonding thing happened. Ron looked surprised. He covered it quickly, but it was still there. Hermione did not know who he was, but she guessed that he was not one to be surprised by very much.

Harry wiped the blood off his face hastily and revealed that whatever had broken the scab was gone now. Hermione found herself disappointed. "Care explaining why we're in your mind instead of Remus's?" Harry asked.

"There's some sort of block keeping me out," Hermione explained. "I have to get past it."

"How?" Harry asked.

"I-I'm not sure," Hermione said, glancing at Ron who appeared entirely disinterested in the conversation. "He just said that if I tried it at this point, I would bleed to death."

Harry let out a whistle between his teeth. Hermione tried not to look surprised. He hadn't really shown much emotion since he had arrived. "Well," he said. "Honestly, I didn't expect it to be hard, but if he says you'll bleed to death, you'll bleed to death. You should have expected it, of course, performing this spell."

"I couldn't find anything on this spell!" Hermione said emphatically. "I searched the Hogwarts library up and down-"

"The Ministry keeps this spell under wraps," Harry said. "I'm surprised you even found it in the library." He didn't look surprised. He didn't look much of anything.

"Why do they do that?"

"Because it's dangerous!" Harry snapped. "Haven't you been listening to anything I've been saying?"

Hermione glared at him. "I have been listening. I just don't understand what's so dangerous about it!"

"Don't see the danger?" Harry asked incredulously. "You're like a small child who wandered into the movie theator in the middle of a movie! People have never woken up when they've performed this spell! They do wake up but they're gone completely mad! Someone who _hasn't _performed the spell never wakes up! That's why the Ministry keeps it under wraps, Granger. If those Death Eaters got ahold of it, not a one of you would ever wake up!"

"The person whose mind you go into has to be in the room with you!" Hermione objected.

"What about me then?" Harry asked. "If _he,_" he jerked this finger at Ron. "Decides it would be 'fun' to bring someone in, odds are, it's just about their time to go! Why do think it scared the crap out of me when I found out where I was?"

Hermione didn't remember him being scared when he came in, but she wasn't about to argue. She knew enough about him to know that he wasn't normally one for speaking his emotions. He must still be scared now, she realized, to have said anything about it at all.

"We tried to find you to perform it," Hermione said, rather quietly. "We just didn't know where you were."

"Well I was a bit tied up, wasn't I?" Harry asked. Ron snorted in laughter. Again, Hermione expected Harry to react to the laugh, but he did not. Her sense of unease grew. "Besides, had I known about this, I would never have done it."

"They're going to kill Remus at the hospital, did you know that?" Hermione demanded. "They're going to kill him because they can't figure out how to make him move and he's going to transform into a werewolf on the full moon. His expanding heart will most likely explode beneath his unmoving rib cage. His heart is practically the only thing in his that's still moving. It will grow, but the rest of him won't. We had to do something!"

There was silence for a moment. Hermione expected him to say something to that, but, once again, Harry didn't quite do what she expected.

"Let's go."

Harry looked at the door and took a step toward it before looking back at Hermione. "Well? Are you coming?"

"I-I," Hermione faultered. She had absolutely no wish to go back through that door, but she wasn't about to loose face in front of this prick. She was not sure whether she meant Ron or Harry. "Of course I'm coming."

Harry put his hands on the door and pushed.

Hermione was sitting on her bed, reading her book.

"Where are we?"

She gave a start and looked around.

Harry, looking exactly the right age and without the scabs, was looking around the room.

"Wha-"

The door burst open and Death Eaters burst in.

A scream came from downstairs. "Get out of here! Run for you life! RUN!"

The Death Eaters took Hermione by the arms and started dragging her, twisting and writing as she was. She was struggling harder and harder and finally the Death Eater got fed up and put a spell on her to stop her moving.

"Move," said a small voice in her ear.

She looked around, tears streaming down her face, and saw Harry standing there, walking calmly along side the Death Eaters.

She couldn't speak. Her mouth was frozen up.

"Don't be an utter fool," Harry said. Hermione found that she was quite tired of people saying that to her. "This is your mind," Harry continued. "You have absolute rein over _everyone._"

Hermione tried to wrap that around her brain. It made sense. She imagined herself moving again and tried to move her arms. Nothing happened. She gave Harry a desprite look.

Harry shook his head. "You're experimenting. You can't do that. You have to believe that it will happen so deeply, that you would be surprised if it didn't."

Hermione wasn't sure she could.

In her memory, her limbs suddenly regained the ability to move and she was kicking and screaming again. Her mother was shouting something, but it didn't regesture in her ears.

"Don't let them do this to you, Hermione," Harry said quietly. "You're better than they are. You're better. You know that. Make-them-let-go-of-you."

Hermione felt anger rising in her at his words and embraced it, letting it fill her to bursting. With a yell, she jerked free of her captors and launched herself at Malfoy just as he raised his wand. With a jerk he fell forward.

Hermione grabbed his wand and held it to his throat. "You stay away from my parents," she hissed.

"Hermione," said that little voice in her ear that was Harry. "What are you doing?"

"He killed them!" Hermione shouted at Harry. "He killed them, right there in front of me? do you have any idea how long I sat there? Crying? Despritely hoping that they're bodies wouldn't go cold? Just holding them to me? The Department of Magical Law Enforcement had to pry me off!" Tears were streaming down her face. "And he killed them! Because they were born Muggles and I, I was born a bloody witch!"

"And you think that your parents blames you for it?" Harry asked, shaking his head. "Don't be foolish. Your parents died trying to save you. If they blamed you for their deaths, they wouldn't have looked twice. Trust me, Hermione," he bent down next to her and looked her firmly in the eye. She flinched away. His eyes were hard and cold, like emerald rocks. "If they hadn't loved you, there is no way you would have turned into the person you are today. And trust me when I say that I know exactly what it's like to live a deprived childhood. You didn't have that. Your parents would hate to know that the only way you remember them is their deaths."

For the breifest instant, Hermione saw that little boy in front of her, angrily wiping blood off his face. Saw the scab on his head that had been so quick to open and to bleed. That had been just as fast to close back up again in its sheltered world. She saw it in front of her and something clicked.

She stood up shakily and dropped the wand. With hesitant footsteps, she walked toward her parents, scared looking and white, but alive in a way that she never thought she would see them again.

Fresh tears ran down Hermione's face. Color seemed to come back to her parents cheeks and her mother held out her arms. Hermione ran into them and she was sobbing into her mother's shoulder.

Her mother stroked her hair and whispered soothing words into her ear. "There, there, Hermione. It's okay to cry sometimes. You're a very strong girl and you've been so strong for so long. We're very proud of you. Very proud." Hermione felt warmth underneath her and felt as though she could stay there forever. She heard her father's voice join her mothers and she was hugging both of them. Slowly her tears deminished and she was completely calm and at peace with herself.

"Hermione."

She squeezed her eyes tight, wishing the voice would go away. It did. There was only calm and peace in the world and for those precious moments, she held onto her parents and she told them about everything she had accomplished, all her dreams that had come true, her job at Hogwarts, some of her students. She said nothing about Death Eaters. This was not the time. They expressed happiness at her triumphs and disappointment at her small failures. Hermione thought she could just sit there forever.

"There's a reason people never wake up, Hermione," said that annoying voice again. "Make me quiet again, if you will. It won't change the fact that your body is slowly dying outside your mind."

She started to make the voice leave again but she hesitated. She remembered what she had to do and her obligations to her friends. She broke apart from her parents and looked at them, fresh tears welling in her eyes at the thought of leaving.

"The time isn't yet," her mother said, wiping away a tear as it made its way down her cheek. "But there will come a time when you can look back on us and smile for who we were, instead of crying for who you lost."

"I do smile," Hermione lied.

Her father gave her a small smile. "Don't you forget where you came from, Hermione. Don't you forget, but move on. There's nothing more to do now. You have to help your friends and we understand that. You've been hurting so long. Don't think of us with painful thoughts anymore."

"I won't," Hermione promised. She rose to her feet and took a few steps backwards, knowing that this was the last time she would see her parents alive and well.

"It's just a memory," Harry said quietly. "Just a memory, but that doesn't mean they won't hear you if you tell them good-bye."

"Good-bye," Hermione whispered. "I love you."

"Good-bye, Hermione," said her mother. "And don't you cry. You have too much to live for to spend it in tears."

"And ask that Ron chap out on a date at some point," her father said briskly. "We still want grandkids, even if we don't get to see them straight away."

Hermione laughed. "Sure, Dad," she said.

A hand gripped her arm. "The clock's ticking," Harry said. Hermione nodded. With a last look at her parents, she turned and walked out the front door. And into the white slashed room.

Harry closed the door behind her. A second look showed that they were back into their childish forms.

"Thought you'd rot and die in there," Ron said exasperatedly. "Should have expected you to get stuck."

Hermione wasn't listening. She was thinking about her parents. It wasn't painful any longer. She gave a small smile. It was better now. Her eyes roamed the room blankly, lost in thought as she was. Her eyes skipped over Harry and then snapped back, jerking her out of her revere.

A great spot of blood had soaked through Harry's robes. From the look of the spot and the small amount of time Harry had spent in the room, she guessed that it was a large gaping hole. He looked rather pale. He must be suffering masive blood loss.

"Let's go," Harry grunted, pressing his hands against the wound in order to stem the flow.

"Careful not to let that get infected," Ron chuckled.

Harry seemed to go paler. He swallow and turned his sharp green eyes on Hermione. "Let's go," he said firmly.

"What's happened to you?" Hermione asked.

"Nothing!" Harry snapped. He took a deep breath and swallowed again. He seemed to be concentrating hard. Slowly, his face clearly and his hands released their pressure on his side. His breathing came in even breaths, rather like he was sleeping standing up.

"Here I thought you possessed mental disapline," Ron said, shaking his head. "But I suppose the beating one can receive on one's mind is always greater than one received on one's physical personage. Takes a bit more disapline to block it out once its opened again."

"Are you quite ready to leave yet?" Harry asked Hermione. His voice sounded cold and distant and his eyes looked angry. "Or do you want to see me do another trick?"

Hermione realized then that she had just witnessed a break down in Harry's mental barriers and he wasn't at all pleased about it. It appeared the scab had returned at this point. Harry was squeezing the blood off his robes. It was making a steady trickle onto the floor. So much blood for such a short amount of time...

"I-I-Let's go," Hermione muttered. Vaguely she realized that her own scabs were gone, leaving only open wounds. The number of cuts were diminished, but there was still a substantial amount.

"After you," Harry said coldly. Hermione pushed open the door.

"Oh, bloody hell..."

Hermione watched in horror as Harry advanced on her with a wand. Red eyes glittered in the distace, watching the scene in cruel amusement. "No, Harry!" Hermione yelled in terror. "You have to fight this! I know you can!"

She saw Harry waver slightly, as though fighting an inner battle. Hermione prayed that he would find strength. He had to find strength, for himself as much as for her.

No! She couldn't do this! Not again! Not this! Harry's hesitation became completely frozen. Hermione got to her feet as she had never been able to do that night. She was trembling all over and she approached Harry. His eyes were glazed over. his mouth was open slightly as though he was arguing with himself. Tears fell down her face again. She knew that this would be coming and she could not deal with it. Not now.

"Hermione," Harry's voice said. Hermione shook her head, not wanting to listen but not letting herself block it out. "You've frozen it before the memory started."

"I can't go through it," Hermione whispered. "Not this one. Any one but this one."

"This is the one that will make you better," Harry said. "If you can accept this one, you can go save Remus."

"Is is worth it?" Hermione whispered.

"Are you kidding?" Harry asked, but it wasn't angry. If she didn't know better, she woud have said that it sounded hollow. "Remus's life or your memory? It isn't a hard choice."

"I don't know if I can do it," Hermione said. "I don't think I can make this unfreeze."

"Of course you can," Harry said. "You made it through the first one. You can make it through this one."

"Can I do the other one again?" Hermione asked, forcing a tiny smile on her face.

"You can," Harry said. "Quite easily, in fact. But you're not here to do things the easy way. You should have known that when you started."

"I didn't know it would be this hard," Hermione said truthfully.

"Everyone's counting on you," Harry said firmly. "I have never known you to let someone down when they're really counting on you."

Hermione closed her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she nodded.

_"Imperio!"_

Hermione was sobbing. "No, Harry! You can fight this! I know you can!"

Harry hesitated over her, clearly trying to fight off the spell. Hermione saw those red eyes jerk off her for a second, listening to something. Harry blinked back to reality. His eyes landed on Hermione. She tried to smooth her terrified features but it was too late. Horror mixed with rage surged through Harry's eyes and he raised his wand again. With a yell, he moved toward Voldemort.

"_Crucio!" _Voldemort yelled despritely. "_Crucio!" _

Harry was completely beyond pain. Nothing seemed to effect him. He moved with sudden and deadly accurate precision.

"_Avada Kedavra!" _

Tears streamed down Hermione's face as she realized that the words had sprung from her friend's mouth. She knew what it would mean for him, to have killed anyone, even Voldemort.

The magical wrappings binding her vanished and she collapsed to the ground, only to scramble to her feet in an instant. Her breath caught. Harry stood there, looking very dramatic and impressive, his eyes glowing with an inner light, his wand still raised over the smoking ruin that had once been a living being. To call it human would be to go too far, but it was living nonetheless.

Suddenly, as though he had been held up by strings that the puppetmaster suddenly dropped, Harry fell to the ground. Hermoione rushed over to him, catching his hand and holding it tightly, appalled at how little warmth was left in it. His eyes fluttered open, looking slightly glazed.

"Hermione," he whispered. "Did you see it?"

"I saw it," Hermione said, tears streaming down her face. "I'm so sorry, Harry!"

"No," Harry said, struggling to maintain consiousness."Did you see it?"

"I saw!" Hermione insisted. "I saw!"

"No," said Harry desperately. At this point it dawned on Hermione that perhaps he wasn't talking about what she thought he was talking about. "Did you see it?"

"See what, Harry?" Hermione whispered, afraid of what his words would be.

"The world," Harry said, relaxing somewhat and closing his eyes. "It's gone. I feel light."

The scene froze around Hermione. Her fingers squeezed tighter around his, trying to make them warm again. A hand touched her on the shoulder. Without looking up, she knew who it was.

"They keep asking him to help," Hermione choked out. "They keep asking so muh from him. They weren't here this night. They didn't see him. They didn't seem him look at me like that and tell me that suddenly the world was lifted from his shoulders. He doesn't want to fight anymore! Why can't they see that?" She looked at Harry. For the breifest instant, she saw pity in his eyes before he realized that she was watching and it flickered away.

"Sometimes people don't have a choice," he said quietly. "Sometimes the need is simply too great."

"Not him," Hermione said firmly. "Not Harry. Not after this!"

"Him more than anyone," Harry said firmly. "You know that. But it's always his choice. Always. You can't make this choice for him and you can't dwell on something that you can't change."

"I wish that I could," Hermione whispered. "I just wish he never had to live through that."

"But he did," Harry said. He bent down, not looking at the motionless form in front of him. "He lived through it and he's working through it. He doesn't need you dwelling on it, holding him back from recovery."

"I'm not!" Hermione said, unconsciously squeezing the motionless figure's hand harder. "I-I-"

"He needs your help," the Harry standing over her said calmly. "Not your sympathy. If he's trying to move past it, you should too."

"I know," Hermione said, wiping her face with the back of her free hand. "But it's not easy, seeing your friend go through that."

"You can't help everyone," Harry said. "And right now, Harry needs your help most by not helping. If he needs to talk, let him talk. Don't hover over him and treat him like a child. He needs a friend. Not a teacher."

"I know," Hermione said. "But lately, it seems like he doesn't have a friend from anyone. Everyone's trying to pressure him into doing something he thought--at this moment!--he would never have to do! He's finished! He shouldn't have to do anymore!"

"Harry will find his strength," Harry said quietly. "When he finds that, he will know what to do. He cannot find it, however, until you let him walk alone. Just let it go, Hermione. Remember you've got another friend who needs you right now. Harry's past anyone's help but his own."

Slowly, Hermione lessened her hold on her friend's hand. "They-They've just been so quick to judge him. They don't understand--"

"They weren't in your place," Harry cut in firmly. "They couldn't possibly. But it's been five years, Hermione. Five years! That's a vast amount of time. It doesn't seem like much, but think about how much has changed. It's time to move on."

"I know," Hermione said. She stood up and wiped her tears away. They came back, but it was the gesture that meant something. "It still hurts," she muttered.

"Don't expect it to go away instantly," Harry said quietly. "Trust me. I know. Still, I think you'll be able to help Remus now."

For a split second Hermione's eyes flickered. "Harry," she said quietly. "Don't let him make me come back through here again."

Apparently Harry had seen her indesicion. "Why not?" he asked. Hermione was suddenly under the impression that he was on the edge of readiness.

"No reason," Hermione said. Harry opened his mouth to reply, but Hermione was suddenly wishing she had never said anything and with jerked movement, ran into the trees. When blackness engulfed her, she sat down, her back against a tree and fresh tears threatened. She fought them back. Why did it have to be so hard? No one had to fight so much in one day. She shouldn't have to! All this time she'd spent, trying to cope with this and she was simply supposed to fix it? In one blow?

She shuddered and held back tears again. But she wouldn't go through that door again. She wouldn't do it. She knew what lurked on the other side. She remembered clearly what had happened, what had haunted her dreams since the incedent, and it wasn't these woods.

Shaking her head sharply, she stood up. Now wasn't the time. Remus needed help and the clock was ticking. She stood up and dusted herself off. Then, taking a deep breath and reaching out blindly, her hand hit a door knob. She turned.

A flash of light announced her arrival at the white room. Surprisingly, the walls were far less torn now, though still noticeably so. Oddly, the instant she returned, she felt the bandages soak through. The medi-witch hurried over to her and began patching her up.

"Reopened old wounds, have we?" Ron asked. "Still, judging by appearances, you've got a better outlook on life."

"Whatever," Hermione muttered. She noticed Harry then, watching her like a hawk. "What?"

"What are you not telling me?" he demanded in his high-pitched child's voice that nonetheless commanded authority.

"I think," Ron said, before Hermione could come up with an answer. "Granger here is ready to go after the block."

"Look at her," Harry scoffed before his eyes darted sharply to Ron and his tone quieted. "She's still a bleeding mess."

Ron shook his head. "No, I think she's ready. She'll go back in if I think she needs to, but I think she's ready. Those wounds will only get worse at this point. She can't wait here forever."

Harry nodded thoughtfully. "Okay, Granger. Let's see what you've got."

Hermione faced them on shaky legs, not liking how they talked about her as if she wasn't there. "I will not go back through. I've wasted enough time. Remus needs me."

"Right," Ron said, suddenly business-like. "Then let's get out of this dump and go do something that means something."

A few seconds later, Hermione realized that she should be offended. Sighing, she also realized that she couldn't bring herself to care.

A/N: Responses!!!

Night-Owl123: Updated!!!

Allizarin Sylvain Phyre: Wheel of Time rules!!! It was the perfect oppurtunity to put that in there so I thought I would. :) Yes, Harry's sort of back in this chapter, though in Hermione's mind. Bad things happen next chapter when Harry tries to break through the block with Hermione. Let's just say, there is a very good reason the Ron guy made Hermione confront her demons before she tried to go through. Not so lucky with Harry though, so when he tries to get through the block, a few of his demons confront him. Hehe! Can't wait to put that one out!!

Saramagic: I updated! Been a whole bloody month though... stupid me. Anyway, still didn't fin dout what happened to Harry, but at least we know he's still alive!!! I felt I should add a bit with Hermione because I don't think she's had any kind of important role in any of my stories and she's one of my favorite characters!!! I honestly think this chapter was a little...slow? I mean, we got through some of Hermione's fears, but no where really in the overall goal of helping Remus. Between you and me, we'll be seeing less of Remus in this story. They're going to find out what happened to him and how to help him, not actually helping him at this point. Wow! I just had a revelation moment that I can't tell you about, but suddenly things are looking happier for me!!! Sort of.. Anyway, I'm not sure when PoA comes out in the USofA, but I think we'll get it whenever because Mum orders everything off the internet so she'll get it as soon as she's able. She's a HP fan too!!! Oh! Did you hear about the next book? It's called The Half-Blood Prince!!! Woot! Everyone thinks the Prince is Voldemort. I'm not so sure though. If you want to know why, check the first paragraph of the tenth chapter in the fifth book. It may be refering to the prefect badges, but it seems a little coincidental. So I guess I'll stop rambling!!! Bye!

RunningInCircles: Glad I updated, too! Hope you like this chapter!!!

Lady-of-the-Dragon-Flame: Hehe!! Hermione's still got a few demons she has to face. It'll make getting through the block difficult, but not impossible, throw in future Harry's personal demons, however... that could get tricky. I'm going to love writing it... Ron's not future future Harry in disguise. Good guess, but I suppose I put a stopper on the theory this chapter. Ron (not really Ron, you know what I mean)... he's not a character really. More like an...entity. Harry'll explain everything if they can get out of this predicament. Okay, okay, WHEN instead of 'if', but 'if' sounds more dramatic. Besides, the journey's half the fun!

mashimaromadness: Hehe...procrastination... sorry, it's a band joke. Not a band joke really,but something someone said on the band bus one time. Not to give you bad mental pictures, but wouldn't the word procrastination sound REALLY bad if you didn't know what it meant? Sorry, sorry. I've just spent WAY too much time with the band nerds lately. Think 7:30-9:00 every school day morning, every Friday night until about midnight or after, depending on whether the football game is home or away, and all day every Saturday for band marching competitions! Blah. Sorry...didn't mean to rant...

shadow-n-the-dark: Hermione's got to heal her emotional scars. People tell me my writing is confusing and I think it's because I don't explain things properly. I know what I'm talking about, and sometimes I forget to meantion somethings! Sorry!!! Oh, still don't know where Harry is, but he's not dead, so that's got to count for something, right? We'll find out what's up later. hehehe...

robbly: Just to start at the end of your review and work my way up... Harry and Hermione are stuck in Hermione's predicament now, though just exactly why the Ron-that-isn't-really-Ron will be explained. It's for more than just an example of scabs, though. Don't worry. That would be really tacky if that was it. Oh, the ball of light was the talisman. She picked it up and it attacked her like it did Harry. Actually, just to be really specific, it was Hermione hitting the block when she tried to get deeper into Remus's brain. Now she's got Harry's help though so she'll get past those first stages of the block easily enough. This is a really long chapter, so be happy and smile and stuff! Still kind of suspenseful, and I'm thinking of putting some of the next chapter in Harry's point of view....that would be interesting... but anyway, I'm done now!!! :) Update your story!!!

Gin Ookami777: Next chapters here! Send me an E-mail if you get your fics up and going!!!

Dadaiiro:The creature that took Ron's form is not exactly a creature. I meantioned what it was, but, alas, I didn't explain it thoroughly and I didn't exactly what it was so much as what it did. It's the guide. Hermione was planning on being the guide for future Harry, but he never showed up so Ron did it. It just took Ron's form though because it doesn't have a form of its own. More will be revealed about that later though. We still don't know what happened to future Harry at this point, but we know he's not dead, so plus side for that! We'll find out more inthe next chapter! Okay, so I'll post this one so I can start writing on the next!!!


	10. The Depths of Repression

A/N: I am so sorry. I just wanted to say that so you'd know. Because I am. And I tried five time. Five. This is the fifth try. I had it all written out. It was very nice too, with a response to every reveiwer nicely written out that talked about my story, and my characters, and Saramagic's new story, all written in my normally quite cheerful way. I saved it to a floppy disk, inserted it into the big computer that connects to the happy internet supplier, pressed the happy little 'Download' button on fanfiction, and...

Gilthas: It didn't work.

Me: Exactly. So then, as I stated above, I tried four more times. Then I cried. Well, not really, but I was pretty close. So I just want to say sorry for the lack of response. I wrote it out! I swear I did! I swear to God, I can never use a floppy without it messing up on me somehow. So anyway, now everyone's asleep and I'm wishing I was. So here's my chapter. I hope you like it!!!

Chapter 10

_Sometimes I remember the darkness of my past._

_Bringing back these memories I wish I didn't have._

_Sometimes I think of letting goand never looking back._

_And never moving forward so there'd never be a past_

--Linkin Park

Hermione suddenly found herself standing in Remus's house. "But I've already been here!" Hermione said, seeing Ron standing a little away from her.

"You have?" Harry asked. "This is Remus's house."

"Yes," Hermione said stubbornly. She walked toward the desk. The small ball was still sitting there, looking way too innocent. "And when I picked that up, it attacked me."

Harry hurried over to where she was standing. His eyes hardened (if that was possible) when he saw it. "It attacked you? How?"

"It shot vines," Hermione answered, grimacing at the memory.

"It did the same to me," Harry said, nodding. "Seems like at least one thing is consistant."

"It shot vines at you? You mean you've seen this before?" Hermione demanded.

Harry looked at her calmly. "Of course I've seen it. I'm the one who gave it to Remus."

"As what? Some kind of sick joke?" Hermione asked angrily. "You gave it to him, even after it attacked you!"

"I told him that it attacked me," Harry said coldly. "I needed to know what it did."

"It shoots vines at you!" Hermione said. "What more proof do you need that its evil?"

"None," Harry said calmly. "I know that it's evil. What I don't know is how it works. You've only seen it this once. I've seen it do more things than shoot vines. You've seen the product of what it can do. It brought Sirius out of the veil. It brought me back to this time and place. That seems very powerful for a simple talisman, don't you think? So I gave it to Remus to figure out. I didn't have time to solve the problem. Trust me, I've paid for that mistake."

Suddenly Hermione remembered. "Harry, why didn't you come? We waited on you to do this spell. Where are you now? If you're here, that means your brain isn't conscious. I don't know how much time has passed in the real world, but we've been here a while. Where are you?"

"That's not important at the moment," Harry said. "We have to--"

"Harry James Potter!" Hermione said, planting herself in front of him. "How do you expect us to help you if we don't know where you are? No one's seen you for days!"

"I don't need help!" Harry said angrily.

"Of course not," Hermione said, her eyes flashing. "You can just die alone then, can't you?"

That really seemed to hit home because Harry's calm exterior cracked, if only for an instant. His eyes flashed with pain. Hermione had the sudden impression that one of his scabs cracked. The next instant, however, it was back. "I suppose I will."

Hermione let her arms fall to her side. "You truly are alone, aren't you?"

"Yes," Harry said calmy. The next second, without warning, he snatched the talisman from the desk. Hermione let out a warning yell and vines shot out of it, attaching themselves to Harry's arm. Flames shot out of Harry's fingers and the vines writhed, but fresh vines ket coming and kept burning, but they didn't stop. Harry's hand tightened around it and the flames turned blue. Encasing the talisman in heat. Hermione expected Harry's own hands to be burning, but they showed no damage at all. Seconds seemed like an eternity as Harry fought them off, but suddenly his hand opened and a runny liquid dripped to the floor, hissing when it hit the cold wood and burned a hole in it.

"All in your mind," Harry said calmly. "If you don't think it hurts, it doesn't."

The world slipped. "I think I activated the trap," Harry said mildly.

"That wasn't it?" Hermione asked.

Harry and Ron both rolled their eyes at her. She frowned.

"You're running into the block," Ron said calmly. "Call me if you get through." Hermione opened her mouth to protest, but he vanished without a noise.

"Don't worry about him," Harry said calmly. The world was solidifying around them. "Worry about us." Something in his voice made Hermione look around. The world stopped spinning. They were standing at the edge of a camp that seemed hidden in a forest. Looking up, she saw a clear night and a full moon. "Remus," she muttered.

"You have no idea," Harry said. Shr looked at him. His face looked slightly paler, though it may have been the moonlight. His face was as calm as ever. "I am sorry," he said quietly. "I didn't know the trap was like this."

"What is it?" Hermione asked. "Where are we?"

"Background story," Harry said with a sigh. "Hogwarts is gone. This is about it for the resistance. We're hiding in some forest we're not allowed to know the name of in case there's a spy. Dumbledore's dead. Has been for a while. McGonagall's in charge." He frowned thoughtfully for a moment. "If I'm not mistaken, today is my birthday. Been about a year then, since I've been out of Hogwarts, though that statement's kind of a joke."

"Why are we here?" Hermione asked.

"Because the trap is trying to get us to leave," Harry said. He muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like, "Probably do it, too."

"Well, we can't just stand here," Hermione said, trying to make her voice sound cheerful. "We won't get anywhere this way."

Harry gave a sharp, quick nod. Nothing about his face said he was reluctant, but Hermione had the distinct impression that it was so. The entered the camp of tents and small, smokeless fires. Everyone seemed gloomily. No one said a word. Hermione saw many familiar faces and many faces she'd never seen before. No one was really looking at anyone else. Harry stopped suddenly. Hermione looked at him, then followed his gaze.

Sitting by himself, wrapped in a blanket and prodding the fire dejectedly with a stick, sat, unmistakeably, a younger version of Harry. Hermione's mouth opened slightly and she went over next to him. Clearly he couldn't see her nor hear her. His eyes kept turning toward the direction of the only actual building she saw. Suddenly, a terrible howl came from it. Harry jerked visibly and closed his eyes.

"But where are we?" Hermione asked. "Where am I? And Ron? I--I know that I'm not dead yet."

Harry looked at her calmly, but Hermione saw his eyes flicker again. She could just see one of those scabs coming off. "You're in with Ginny and Ron. They, particularly Ginny, hasn't quite gotten over it yet. I'm usually in there, too, but not tonight." His voice lowered. "Not bloody tonight."

Suddenly there was a crash and the memory Harry was on his feet. Actual Harry flinched. Someone screamed. Everyone in the camp was looking around in fear. Memory Harry started running toward the scream, towards the building. "No," Actual Harry whispered.

From the other side of the building, a large wolfish creature walked, stalked really, and stood staring at memory Harry. Blood dripped from its jaws.

"Remus!" Hermione said, her eyes wide. Harry barely noticed. His brain was numb, watching this scene unfold before him. "God, not again," Harry whispered.

"Remus!" Memory Harry yelled. He took a step toward the wolf.

"Let's go," Harry said. "I can't watch this."

"What are you doing?" Hermione asked, watching the scene before him.

"Let's go!" Harry said urgently. He grabbed her arm and started to pull. She jerked it away. Her brown eyes landed on Harry. "You have to sit through it, Harry. It's the trap. It's trying to get you to leave."

"It's doing a damn good job," Harry said, anger showing on his face. "How can you watch this?"

"Because I don't know what's going to happen," Hermione said, and from her eyes, Harry could tell that it was the absolute truth.

"From what you know about me," Harry said. "Do you honestly want to?"

Hermione's eyes darted. She shook her head. "I have to, Harry. It's for Remus."

Harry hesitated. "Hermione," he said. "Let's get out of here."

"Go," Hermione said. "This is your memory. It will probably stop when you leave."

"I don't want to leave you here."

"I can take care of myself," Hermione said. "I know how to do it now. There's no need for you to watch this. Oh God!" Harry did not turn to see what she was talking about. He knew what was happening. He'd been through it once already. She shouldn't be able to see it if he was gone. As calmly and quickly as he could, he walked back into the forest, and back into his own mind.

Hermione watched in horror as the werewolf advanced on Harry slowly. Suddenly, with a growl, the werewolf charged. Hermione's breath caught when Harry didn't move. Then the wolf was on him. It reared up, claws extended. The next second, Harry was pushed out of the way, falling to the ground. With the terror in front of her, Hermione had not noticed what the rest of the camp was doing. The had noticed and, while most were panicking, others were pulling out wands.

Someone had pushed Harry out of the way. Instead of Harry getting hit, they did. Harry's anguished yell could be heard throughout camp, snapping many of the panicking to their senses. Harry scrambed out of the way. The werewolf--

The scene before her faded. Harry must have left. Without his mind to take the memory from, the trap couldn't run the memory. It still had one mind, however, and it was busy digging to find her worst memory. The world solidified around her. Apparently, it had found it. Hermione closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. She would not be run away. She was doing this for Remus and she would be damned if she ran away from her own mind. Harry was different. He had always been the one with the terrible memories, right from the start. She had never had the kind of memories that made her faint when a dementor came near, but she had never run from her own mind before she refused to start now.

Oh God, but she knew what was coming.

The air was musty and stale, the walls made of rock and dirt. She was underground. But she had known that she would be as soon as she realized what the trap did. The floor was hard pressed earth, as though many feet had trod upon it. Hermione knew that many feet had.

Suddenly a scream echoed throughout the tunnels, reverberating off the walls. There was a thumping noise and the scream cut off abruptly, to be replaced with gasping sobs and a soft noise, as though someone were being dragged.

The people making the noise came around the corner. It was a woman, dirty and disheveled, being dragged carelessly down the hall, sobbing hard and pulling weakly at her captor in a way that suggested her hope was gone, but she would keep fighting, despite her increasingly weakening muscles and quickly vanishing hope.

Hermione recognized the girl. She was a student of hers at Hogwarts. Hermione's body went cold and tears formed in her eyes.

"No!" Hermione shouted. "No! I refuse this! I defy you're stupid block! You're stupid trap! You can't chase me away with this! Try something else!" Her last sentence sounded desperate and she knew it, but she couldn't help it. She couldn't go through this, not again. She shook her head stubbornly and looked away from the scene. They couldn't make her watch. They couldn't.

Oh, but they could.

When she turned her head, the scene followed her eyes. No matter what way she looked, the scene was before her eyes. It knew she was trying to look away. Of course it could. It was reading her mind right now, copying this scene from her memory, making up a few things that it couldn't make out.

The scene followed the person dragging the girl. He was a Death Eater. One of Malfoy's followers. Hermione felt cold hatred welling up inside her at the thought.

The man opened the door and threw the girl inside. He turned to leave, but his head suddenly jerked up as he heard a noise. His hand inched toward his wand, his eyes watching everything carefully. Suddenly there was a burst of red light from no where and he fell to the floor.

A whispered word opened the door that the Death Eater had closed and the girl fell out, as though she had been leaning on the door when it was opened. She tried to struggle to her feet, but the effort seemed too much for her. With a soft russel, an Invisibility Cloak fell to the floor as the person wearing it shrugged it off and bent gently down to the girl and held her hand tightly.

"Anna?" said the Hermione in the memory. "Anna, look at me. It's going to be okay now. You have to come with me, though. We have to get out of here."

With a sob, Anna clung to Hermione's hand, clutching it as one would clutch their very last string that is stopping them from falling down a cliff, in desperation but without any real hope that it's going to help.

"You have to come with me, child," Hermione said urgently. "You have to come with me and I'll take you to you parents. You want that, right?"

Before the girl could respond, a vexed hiss came from no where.

"Hermione! The cloak! Put the bloody cloak back on!"

"What about Anna?" Hermione whispered back.

"Put her under there, too!" said a panicked voice. "Just hide yourself!"

"Too late," said a voice. A person dressed in Death Eater black entered the hall quite calmly through another door. His eyes, seen through his mask, lingered only a second on the body of his stunned comrade. "It would appear we have an intruder alert."

Hermione in the memory stood up slowly. "How could you do this? She's only a girl. No more than 13."

"Why do you think we did it?" asked the Death Eater. "Do you honestly think we have any kind of interest in a simple child?"

Memory Hermione's eyes flickered. "You lured us here."

There was a noise of surprise from behind her, clearly coming from another figure in an Invisibility Cloak.

"You've been something of a pest," said the Death Eater. He had still made no move to defend himself, or to attack Hermione.

Hermione, watching the scene unfold, shook herself out of her horror. She couldn't just stand here and let it all happen again. But she was rooted to the spot. She couldn't move forward.

But she could move back.

Desperately, Hermione turned to go back. She couldn't watch this. Not again. She closed her eyes tight. Voices were saying something behind her.

_For Remus. _

That single thought flickered through her head.

_For Remus._

Her hand tightened into fists and she determinedly turned around. She wasn't running anymore because now, it wasn't about her.

_For Remus._

The attack had begun while Hermione's back had been turned. More Death Eaters had shown up, taken them by surprise. Her eyes flickered open. She saw herself, fighting life and limb to prevent herself from being hit. She flung curses back at the Death Eaters, dodging. She made for the corner, a place of refuge. A spell hit her in the back. She fell flat on her face and lay their shuddering for a moment before she seemed to come to and push herself off the floor. Ron had run out to help her, shield her with his body, yelling at her to get up.

Hermione seemed fine. Her eyes unfocused breifly. Hermione, watching the memory, knew what was happening and the entire scene reflected it. Everything was flickering, darkeness, brightness, darkness, brightness. People unfocused then sharpened. Everyone started to move slowly, like they were struggling through water. Hermione in the memory saw the Death Eaters trying to drag the girl away, and her, fighting them with arms and legs to prevent that. Memory Hermione took a step forward. Ron grabbed her arm to drag her back. Sound itself seemed to go slowly. Ron's words muddled together as she pulled free. He couldn't stop her. He joined her, trying to keep her alive while the number of Death Eaters kept growing and Hermione's eyesight was failing.

She shook her head to clear it. There, the girl. She had to save the girl.

Hermione raised her wand. The figures around her blurred, including the girl, who now appeared to be on her feet, fighting back. It was a mess of black robes. Hermione's mind wasn't working right. She felt slow-witted and stupid, but as long as she held onto her objective, she could stand it. She took aim...and fired.

Hermione, watching the scene, felt a yell tear at her throat. Not again. Oh God, not again.

But it happened. Hermione saw two figures stand in surprise as the figure between them fell to the ground, dead, her brown hair falling in waves to perfectly frame a startled face.

Memory Hermione gasped and fell, her brain numb and her eye sight temporarily gone. The scene faded, leaving Hermione crying in the dark. She had watched that girl grow up at Hogwarts. She was an exceptionally bright girl, very gifted at medicine and planning to be a mediwitch. She had been stolen away while trying to rescue survivers of a Death Eater attack. Hermione had insisted on getting her back. She was part of the team, only a child, perhaps, but a major part. She had healed Hermione's broken arm once.

She was dead. Hermione had killed her.

Fresh tears whelled up in Hermione's eyes. She had awoken after the incident to find herself in St. Mungo's, Ron sitting next to her. He had told her then that the girl- no, not' the girl'. Amy. Her name was Amy.-had been murdered by Death Eaters. Hermione had sobbed for hours after, Ron unable to help, trying to choke out what she had done. Ron never understood her, though, and Hermione couldn't stop crying. And so the incident became secret. Hermione's secret shame. The day Hermione died inside.

She heard footsteps behind her and she whirled around, her hand going to her robe's pocket for her wand. It was empty.

A girl materialized out of the darkness. Hermione's breath caught. Amy.

"Why, Granger?" she asked. Hermione went cold all over.

"Amy," Hermione whispered. "You know I didn't, not on purpose. I was trying to help you."

"Help me?" Amy asked angrily. "Help me from living? Is that it, Professor? Is the world honestly so cruel that you felt you had to kill me to save me from it?"

"No," Hermione said, tears streaming unchecked down her face. "That's not it at all! The curse! It-"

"Don't shift the blame!" Amy shouted, angry coming off her in waves. "You pointed your wand at me, said the words, and _you killed me!_"

"I didn't mean to," Hermione cried. "I meant to help you. I did. I swear!"

"Well thanks," Amy said sarcastically. "I owe you my life. No wait, that's the other way around."

"You have every right to be angry," Hermione said quietly. "You must hate me."

"Yes, to both statements," Amy angrily. "You have no idea how long I've waited to say this to you, _Professor Granger._" Suddenly her expression turned from open anger to sudden inspiration. "And I know just the way to repay you."

Hermione's eyes widened.

"No, no, nothing like that," Amy said. "If I was going to kill you, I would have done it. It's quick. It's painless. I want to make you suffer." She looked around. "This is certainly an interesting place, isn't it? Someone's mind, I think. You know the great things about the mind?" She leaned down next to Hermione conspiritorily. "It's that if your unconscious, you can go anywhere. You know sleep is a form of unconsciousness. Any idea how long you've been here, Granger?"

Hermione's eyes followed her as she paced back and forth. "No idea." Hermione knew that she could do nothing. Amy was right. She owed her student her life. She could never fight her.

"Quite a while, actually. Time is different here. A minute to you is an hour to them. An hour here is nearly three days in the real world. At the moment, time seems to be on my side. It's night. He's sleeping."

Hermione went cold. "Who?" she breathed.

Amy smiled wickedly. She snapped her fingers. Ron appeared, looking rather confused. His eyes landed on Hermione.

"Hermione!" he said, hurrying to her side.

"You see," Amy said carelessly. "I can bring anyone. I'm dead, after all. I'm not limited as you are."

Ron looked up. His eyes landed on Amy. "Amy?" he asked disbeleivingly. "But you're dead! Death Eaters killed you!"

Amy raised her eyebrows at Hermione. "So you didn't tell him? No matter. That's not why I brought him here."

Suddenly Ron screamed, an earpeircing yell that sounded like he'd been stabbed in the gut. He crumpled to the floor, still yelling, and Hermione bent by his side, trying to raise her voice over his yell.

"Oh God, Ron! Hold on! What's wrong? Oh God, oh God, oh God..."

Suddenly Ron's eyes glazed back and his body went lax. Hermione went white and felt desperately for a pulse. There it was, beating very faintly, but still beating.

"What did you do to him?" Hermione shrieked. She turned wildly to Amy and found the girl looking at her coldly, calmly.

"The question you must ask yourself now," she said. "Is whether the life of one friend is worth the life of another."

A/N: Another cliffy! Sorry about that, but I did post. And sorry again for the lack of reviews. It's exceptionally rebarbative.

Gilthas: She means annoying.

Me: It's the same thing. So anyway, I'm keeping my Mum away with my typing because she repainted her room and can't sleep through the smell so she's sleeping on the couch. Sorry for the lack again! I feel terrible! Please reveiw anyway! I promise I'll respond next time, even if I have to type it again six times!!! By Gum! See you. Read and Review!!!

--Gilthas


	11. Questions Answered

A/N: Where'd Gilthas go? Where'd Gilthas go? There she is! Wow. I haven't updated in ages and for some reason, people suddenly started reviewing me! Why? I don't know. So then I was like, well, why not? So, thanks to random and completely unexpected reviews, here's the next chapter!

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Chapter Eleven: Questions Answered

Hermione rose slowly to her feet, her whole body shaking. "I don't have to make that kind of choice."

Anne raised her eyebrows. "I don't see how you have the choice. Either you leave and kill Remus, or you stay and kill Ron. Hard choice, but I suppose you're used to killing people."

"This is ridiculous," Hermione said, more strongly than she felt. "You're not Anne. Anne died years ago and she was not a resentful person. You're Malfoy's puppet. He's talking through your image."

"That would be easier, wouldn't it?" Anne said with a slight smile. "But it's not true. I believe at some point your friend explained to you that this talisman you're trapped in helped bring his precious godfather back from the dead. It seems to have a way with people--dead ones, that is."

"This talisman we're in," Hermione said, still aware of Ron's labored breathing behind her. "What can it do, exactly?"

Anne laughed. "What can you do? This is more than just a talisman, my friend. This is a piece of a human soul." She grinned viciously at the appalled look on Hermione's face. "Told you it had a way with the dead. And speaking of which..." Anne turned to Ron. Suddenly he started twitching convulsively again. "Last chance, Granger."

Something was wrong with Anne. Something that Hermione couldn't quite place. Then it clicked. "Granger? You've never called me 'Granger' in your life...or death," Hermione said. "That's enough of this charade. Game's over. You're not Anne. Who are you?"

Anne smiled, a horrible smile that made a shiver run up Hermione's spine but she repressed it. "Who are you?" She repeated.

Anne's face started to melt. Hermione gasped in alarm and took a step back, tripped over Ron's motionless body and fell to the floor. She grabbed Ron's wrist and pulled him away from the gruesome sight.

Slowly Anne was changing shape until she became indistinguishable as a human being. Then slowly another figure took her place, one that was sickeningly familiar.

Hermione looked into the face of the last person she expected to see. _Then again, _she thought sourly. _Maybe I should have expected it all along._

Draco Malfoy smirked. "You're surprised to see me. That's expected. After all, this isn't my mind. It's Remus's. You're trying to get through the trap. Why on earth should I be here?"

"You created the trap," Hermione said. "I suspected it. It's not too surprising, only the part about the intelligence needed."

Draco smirked. "Once again you put your impressive intellect to the test and once again, as it should justifiably happen to Mudbloods, you've ended up short. I didn't make this trap, Granger. I _am _this trap."

Hermione hadn't a clue what that meant, but wasn't about to give an inch to this pompous jerk. He'd cost her too much. "I don't care who made this trap and I don't care what this trap is. I've beaten it. You're required to let me past."

Draco tilted his head back and laughed. "Is that what you think? You think I toss a few bad memories at you and then bow down and surrender? They called you the brightest witch of the age, Granger. You don't seem to be living up to your name." Suddenly his eyes became cold. "Pain doesn't come in one kind, Granger. It's not always emotional. You're friend Harry taught me that."

Suddenly Hermione was being pierced with tiny needles, all over her body. The needles sank deeper and deeper, growing larger as they went, piercing her heart and lungs. She felt blood spilling out of her mouth, flowing down her arms through the exposed wounds. Through the agony, she heard Malfoy's soft voice, sounding colder, more collected than she had ever heard it.

"Pain, Granger, is relative. Your pain, after all, means nothing to me. Why is it, then, that you seem to feel such agony over the loss of that stupid girl? You can't feel her pain. I could stab her through the eye and you would not feel the blinding agony that she experiences, the horror of knowing that without the proper medical treatment, she'll be blind forever. And yet you pretend to know. You feel sorry for her pain. Why?"

The needles were jerked out and the wounds healed. The ache and pain remained, but it was less now with the source redrawn. Hermione lifted herself to her knees, unsure of when she had hit the ground.

Hermione's gaze latched onto Malfoy and Draco's cold eyes bored into hers. "Who are you?" Hermione said, trying and failing to keep a snarl out of her voice.

"I'm Draco Malfoy," said Malfoy with a smirk. "Who do I look like?"

"You're not Draco Malfoy," said Hermione. The it clicked. "At least not the one from this dimension."

Malfoy's lip curled. "Knew you had the ability to put two and two together. No. I am not from this dimension. Just so we can clear up this nonsense, I am also not all of myself. I'm just a piece, but a very important piece."

"Which piece?" Hermione asked, keeping her voice level.

Malfoy smirked. "I'd have thought you'd figured that out by now Granger. I'm the ruthless piece." His smile grew at the look on her face. "Ah. You begin to see just what I'm willing to do."

"So you transplanted a piece of yourself into this talisman," Hermione said. "What happened to the rest of you?"

Malfoy shrugged. "I'm pretty sure your friend killed me. Dramatic fight and whatnot. Still, it's hard to win a fight with your most important piece missing. You have use your brain more than your brawn in battles against him. That's why I'm here. I knew I couldn't win face to face so I made this in order to stab him in the back. That's just about the only way to kill a killer."

"He's not a killer," Hermione said angrily, forgetting her fear as she rose to her friend's defense.

Malfoy blinked at her outburst, then tilted his head back and laughed. "Never in my life did I dream of hearing those words coming from you, Granger! He pointed his wand at you, said the words, and you _died _right there! Not a killer?"

The world flickered around them and suddenly they were in a clearing in the middle of a forest. Harry was on the ground, Voldemort stood ready. Hermione saw herself tied up at the side. Harry pushed himself to his feet. The Hermione watching looked away. She didn't need to be seeing this.

"I see you already know about that," said Malfoy. Hermione heard Voldemort's voice say, "_Imperio!"_

"Here comes my favorite part," said Malfoy, still watching. "Oh! Here's where you try to reach him." From the scene came Hermione's own voice, pleading with Harry to remember who he was. The next second Harry yelled that terrible word and the clearing filled with green light. A scream pierced the clearing, only to be abruptly cut short. The scene faded.

"That not enough for you?" Malfoy asked. "He killed my father, you know. Beat him to death."

"He didn't!" Hermione said before she could stop herself.

Malfoy shook his head. "Looks like there's not a lot you really know about this person you claim as a friend. Still, enough is enough. What's the Muggle phrase? Oh yes. Today is a good day to die."

Hermione would have laughed, but she couldn't bring herself to. Malfoy was looking at her calmly. "What would you prefer? Quick and painless? Or, my personal favorite, long and excruciating?"

"You can't kill me," Hermione said calmly. The memory of Harry had brought a new memory, one of Harry picking up the talisman, burning the vines, and coming up unscathed.

"Can't I?" Malfoy asked, smirking again. "Kill the brain and the body dies."

"You can't kill my brain," Hermione said. "Because I refuse to let myself die. If I don't think I'm dying, if I don't think that I feel pain...I don't. I learned that from a friend."

Malfoy's eyes hardened. "The same friend that killed you? The same friend that deserted you as soon as the memories got too much for him? That's a traitor, Granger, not a friend. He betrayed you once and he's done it again."

"I defy you," Hermione said, pulling herself to her full height. "You have no power over me and you will let me pass."

"I won't," Malfoy mocked. "I don't have to."

"If you won't let me," Hermione said. "Then I will give myself permission. I will pass you now. You're power over me has ended. You can't touch me." Hermione didn't know how or why, but she knew at that moment that she could beat anything Malfoy threw at her. _It's all mental._

It seemed so clear now. She had spent so much time in the mind of herself and others and the answers had been in front of her all along. The cleverest witch of the age. She had never liked that title. It put a lot of pressure on her. She had never felt she deserved it.

"Don't be ridiculous, Hermione," Malfoy said. "There's no need to kill yourself for a whim. The mind dies more easily than the body."

Hermione wasn't listening to him at this point. There was a way out of there, she knew. The door out was only too obvious, it seemed to pulse at her back. It seemed to reason that the way in was a door as well, but on the other side...behind Malfoy. There. She could feel it pulsating too, but it was faint. Malfoy was blocking her way to it.

"Move out of the way, Malfoy," Hermione said calmly.

"I don't have to. You can't make me," Malfoy taunted. "You still have no idea what you're up against."

Anger rose in Hermione at his arrogant pose, his drawling voice, and his taunting words. "You selfish little twit," Hermione snapped. "You've never in your life cared for anyone but yourself. Do you ever think about what you're doing, or do you just drift from event to event and take credit for it? You're rude, your cowardly, your selfish, and _you will move._"

Malfoy's smirk had slipped. "Granger-" he began, but Hermione cut him off.

"_Now_, Malfoy. I don't have time to listen to your pathetic excuse at words. I don't have time."

"Have something doubtlessly noble and selfless to do, have you?" Malfoy said. "Typical, Grang-"

Hermione's wand was in her hand. She had summoned it there with a thought. "_Stupefy!_" She yelled. The spell hit Malfoy in the chest with such speed that Malfoy didn't have time to summon a defensive thought. He fell to the ground, stunned. Hermione's wand vanished and she walked calmly toward the door, opened it, and stepped inside.

Thunder crashed. The room she had stepped in was one buried deep in her memory and try as she could, she couldn't place it.

"It's the Shrieking Shack," said a voice behind her. She spun around, her wand appearing in her hand with a thought. She sighed wanted to sigh in relief at who she saw, but had been fooled too many times to be fooled again.

"Learning, are we?" Harry asked. "Well in this instance, it doesn't matter. I was waiting for you to beat Malfoy. I figured you could do without my help." Harry sighed. "Looks like Remus's isn't doing so well, however. Kinda wish I'd stayed out."

"How did you get in here? If you're the real Harry, you've already left."

Harry sighed. "When you passed through, a whole opened in the trap. I slipped in right behind you. Had nothing better to do, really."

"My _God,_" said an annoyed voice behind them. "You would think that the cleverest witch in her age would be quicker about getting through a primitive trap." Ron's eyes landed on Harry and he smirked slightly. "Scared you out, I suppose."

Harry scowled.

"No matter," said Ron. Hermione knew he was the guide, the one that was supposed to lead her through the trap. "We're here now. Unscathed, however? Or physically scarred?"

Hermione glared at him. "Aren't you supposed to be my guide? Where were you the whole time?"

Ron snorted derisively. "Hate to break it to you, Hermione, but I have better things to do than help you through such a shallow trap. I'm on a time limit, you know. Speaking of which..." Ron's eyes landed on something behind Hermione. "Let's continue, shall we?"

Hermione turned. Remus stood on the stairs, looking at Hermione, Harry, and Ron in suspicion. "Who are you?"

"Remus!" Hermione said and hurried over to him. He took a step back.

"Who are you?" he repeated. He was in perfect health. Hermione didn't know what she expected to find, but it wasn't that. He looked better than she'd ever seen him, thought still slightly old.

"It's me, Hermione," Hermione said. "I did a spell to go into your mind to ask you what had hit you. This," she beckoned at Ron, "is my guide. It's not really Ron, you see. I don't know what he is, but he's certainly rude about it. This is the Harry from the other dimension. The guide brought him here, not sure why."

"Because you didn't have the power to complete the spell yourself," Harry said with a sigh. "He dragged me in so I could help."

"What are you talking about?" Hermione said, frowning. "I got past the trap alone, no thanks to you."

Harry's eyes narrowed. "We are doing the spell now. Getting past the trap was rather like...performing the spell. Now you're actually in the spell. Trust me, this is the part that takes the power."

"You might want to hurry up the conversation," Ron said pointedly to Hermione. "Harry's taking on the weight here and believe me, he can't last forever."

Hermione looked at Harry. He looked the same.

"Trust me," Harry said, annoyed. "This is taking my power. You just can't tell yet." Suddenly he winced. "Talk."

"Remus," Hermione said. "I need you to tell me exactly what happened."

Remus nodded. "What can it hurt. If you're a Death Eater, you probably know anyway."

"Trust me, they're not," Ron said. "We're in your mind, remember? You see us how we are."

"You look like Ron to me," Remus said, his eyes narrowing.

Ron smirked. "Yeah, don't worry about that. I'm above you."

Harry smiled slightly. Hermione noticed sweat breaking out on his forehead. "Remus."

"Right," Remus said, focusing his attention back on Ron and Hermione. "Do you know yet what the talisman is?"

"A piece of Malfoy," Hermione said quickly. "Malfoy from this Harry's dimension."

"Right," Remus said.

Harry's eyes narrowed. "I killed him," he said simply. "Last year. Took a bullet, too. I'm pretty darn sure he's dead and rotting."

"He made the talisman before that, though," Hermione said. "You used it to get Sirius out of the veil. I'm still not sure how. If it was the ruthless piece of him, it should have attacked you."

Remus shook his head. "The talisman may have a piece of Malfoy in it, and while it can think for itself, it can't disobey an order from its master." He paused. "This is hypothetical, by the way, based on something of the like I've read about before and my personal observations. There's no guarantee it's entirely accurate."

"What book?" said Hermione eagerly.

"Doesn't matter," Harry said pointedly. He was definitely sweating now and rather pale, although you couldn't tell by the expression on his face.

"My guess," Remus said hurriedly. "Is that Malfoy told it to open the veil, but he didn't say for whom."

"I'm just doing my job when I say this," Ron said, with a look that said he wasn't really paying attention. "But couldn't you talk about this _after _Remus is awake?"

Harry looked at him sharply. "Your job as Hermione's guide?" Ron just smirked.

"He's right," Hermione said. "Tell me exactly what hit you."

Remus sighed. "It was a cross between an immobilizing and stunning. I have no idea how Malfoy thought of it, but the effect was basically to stun my outside and immobilize my inside. My body is barely moving," he said. My heart is laboring just to beat, Hermione. I need released of this."

"Do I just remove the stunner?" Hermione asked. "Would that work?"

Remus shook his head. "The two spells fused. Each protects the other. It's quite ingenious, really."

"Thank you," Harry said with a slight smile.

"What?" Hermione asked, whirling on him.

"I-" Harry stopped with a gasp, clutching his heart. He fell to one knee, his face contorted with pain. "I invented it," he managed.

"Then how do we get it off?" Hermione asked, going over to him but unsure what she could do to help. He turned to Ron. "Could he use some of my power? It's my spell, after all."

Ron shook his head. "The power comes from one source."

"You have to tell me how to get it off," Hermione said.

"You don't have time," Ron interjected. "Tell them where you are, in the physical world."

"I'm fine!" Harry said, managing to snap through gritted teeth. "I'll get out on my own!"

"Who do you think you're talking to?" Ron said with raised eyebrows. "I say you won't."

"We can help," Hermione said hurriedly. "Where are you?"

Harry looked completely torn. He closed his eyes against the pain and managed to say, "Malfoy mansion."

Hermione gasped. "Why are you there?"

Harry fell to the ground with a very un-Harry-like yell and sat there shivering. "Why is he-" Hermione started to ask Ron, but he had vanished. The world around her was starting to flicker.

"Harry, stick with me a minute more," Hermione said. "What was Ron? He said, 'who do you think you're talking to?' What did me mean?"

"He's fate, Hermione," Harry said. He looked pale and sickly. "He's fate."

The world around them vanished.

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A/N: I don't like this chapter very much, just because I wanted to get Hermione out and wasn't sure how. So anyway, here's my next chapter. Bet you never thought you'd see that, eh? Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go write chapter 12. This story is almost over, by the way. I'll be finishing it up soon. I had this other idea...


	12. Awakenings

A/N: Wow. Amazing. I've actually updated again. And soon! Compared to how I've been doing recently, this is amazing. Really. And I was really happy to see a few old faces. Thanks for sticking with me through my time of no updates!

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Chapter Twelve: Awakenings

Ron looked up blearily. "What?"

"Tea," Harry repeated, holding up a cup and gesturing.

"No thanks," Ron said and turned back to Hermione. He was sitting next to her hospital bed, her hand held between his.

Harry sighed and pulled up a chair next to Ron. He disentangled his friend's hand with Hermione's and put a warm cup of tea into it. Ron looked confused with the barrier between his hand and Hermione's for a moment before sighing and taking a drink.

"Too much sugar," he said, but drank it anyway.

"Ron, you need to go out a little," Harry said. "You're looking pale. You haven't been outside in a week!"

"Hermione's been out that long!" Ron protested, setting aside the empty cup. "I can't leave her here! What if she wakes up?"

Harry sighed. "Ron, if Hermione _were _awake, she'd tell you to stop being obsessive and go outside a bit!"

"I'll just wait until Hermione tell me herself, shall I?" Ron said, but without conviction. They'd had the same argument everyday since Hermione's unconsciousness.

"Ron, will you please tell me what happened to her?" Harry asked. Ron didn't look at him. Harry had asked that question every day as well. "Ron!"

"What?" Ron asked, blinking.

"Tell me what happened to Hermione!" Harry said. "I don't deserve to be kept in the dark like this!"

"Why not?" Ron asked suddenly. Harry blinked in surprise. Normally Ron avoided the question at this point. Ron was looking at him angrily. "It's not like you ever do anything to help! You just mope around all the time, feeling sorry for yourself! Well let me tell you something, Harry! This never would have happened if it wasn't for you!"

Harry knew that Ron was angry and didn't mean to be angry at him, but Harry suddenly felt a lot less like coolly Ron down and a lot more like getting a few answers. "How do you figure that, Ron?"

"Hermione wasn't powerful enough to do this spell! She knew that all along! I knew that! Sirius knew that! Do you know who did have enough power to do the spell?"

Harry swallowed. "Me. But I'm not going to get involved in this Ron! I've explained that to you!"

"Not well enough, I suppose!" Ron said, he was shouting now and Harry found himself caring less and less. "Do you just not care that everyone's dying? Do you just not care that Hermione and Remus are unconscious and the full moon comes out in two nights? Does their pain and suffering not matter to you?"

"I've done my time, okay?" Harry said angrily. "You don't have any idea why I do what I do!"

"Then tell me!" Ron said. "For God's sake, Harry! It's been five years and you've barely said a word to me about it! You think I'm just supposed to know? You think I've got magic mind reading powers?"

"You're not supposed to know!" Harry said, raising his voice slightly. "You're just supposed to understand that I don't want to talk about it and leave it at that!"

"Hermione understood!" Ron said, standing up and gesturing to Hermione's unconscious form. "She understood and never said a word to you! I'm not Hermione! I don't have her patience with your ridiculous antics while my friends are dying! I'm sorry you're hurt and I'm sorry I don't understand, but I can't stand by while my friends get hurt again and again while you just stand there!"

"You seem so concerned," Harry said angrily. "About your friends getting hurt. You seem so sure that I don't care enough to help! But you've never cared about me getting hurt! Where were those angry outbursts when it was me lying on those hospital beds? Do you have any idea, even for a second, what it feels like to be tortured by the Cruciatus Curse again and again until you're within an inch of your very life and sanity? Do you have any idea what it's like to stand there with a wand in your hand over your friend, unable to control what you're doing and not having enough strength to fight back? You think you know what it feels like, you think you understand enough of what I went through to tell me that I'm worthless, that I'm too selfish to defend my friends! You stand there, Ron. You be there, on your back and lacking to the strength to stand up while the most feared dark wizard in a thousand years points a wand at your heart and knowing, just knowing, that in a few minutes, the last chance the wizarding world had against total destruction is about to die and none of that matters because the first one to go is lying three feet from you, begging you to get up! Don't talk to me about selfishness, Ron Weasley. You don't even know. You can't understand."

Harry turned then and reached for the door, anger and hurt drumming in his ears and Ron's accusing eyes on his back. They thought they knew. They all thought they knew. They were so cocky, so sure that they knew what he went through. So quick to judge, so quick to--

"Ron?"

Harry froze, his hand on the doorknob.

"Hermione!"

Harry whirled around to see Hermione's brown eyes open at last. She sat up and looked around wide eyed. "Harry! Are you okay?"

"What?" Harry asked, blankly. "Of course."

"And you Ron?" Hermione asked, turning to look at Ron's anxious face, grabbing his hand with trembling fingers. "You were there too. She had you on the floor. I didn't think it was you, because you couldn't possibly be there and I had to leave you to get to Remus--"

"It never happened," Ron said hastily. "I've been here the whole time. Hermione! Oh God, I've been so worried about you." He hugged her hard.

"He hasn't left your side," Harry said, when they broke apart. The earlier hurt seemed to have evaporated with Hermione's recovery. "What happened to you?"

Hermione glanced at Ron for a split second, then her eyes widened. "Remus! How is he? Has it been the full moon yet?"

"A few days from now," Ron reassured her. "Did you find out how to help him?"

"Malfoy Manor," Hermione said, looking Ron in the eyes as though giving him a secret message that Harry wasn't supposed to know. "That's where we go."

"I can go there now," Harry said suddenly. "If you need my help so much, now's the time. I've been looking forward to seeing old Malfoy."

"No!" Hermione said hastily. Harry gave her a look. "I mean, I don't want you involved if you don't want to be."

"No problem," Harry said, shrugging. "Apparently I've been moping around here for five years, I should go do something useful." Well, maybe the ill feeling hadn't totally evaporated.

"I didn't mean that," Ron said, not meeting Harry's eye. "You know I didn't. I was just so worried about Hermione."

"Doesn't matter," Harry said with a shrug. "I'll go. What am I looking for?"

"There's no need for you to go," Hermione said. "Really there's not. I know you don't want to be involved in this."

"I'm going," Harry said firmly. "What am I looking for?"

Hermione looked desperately at Ron.

"I'll go," Ron said hastily.

Harry frowned. Suddenly things looked less like they were trying to be nice to him and more like they were trying to stop him from going there for a reason. "You can come along if you want, but I'm going, too."

"It's really not necessary," Ron said, although he looked rather ill at the prospect of visiting the Death Eater headquarters by himself.

"I'll go get ready," Harry said, turning and leaving the room. When the door was completely closed, he froze in place.

__

Now you've done it, said that little voice in his head. _You'll never get out at this rate. They suck you into the roll of hero and you can't get out._

But what are they trying to hide? asked another voice. _There's been something going on that they've been keeping from you for ages. Maybe the answer's in Malfoy Manor._

"Going somewhere?" asked a voice behind him. Harry shook himself of his thoughts and turned to seen the squib nurse, Reida, behind him.

"Home," Harry said with a small smile. He'd gotten to know Reida over the last week, with Remus and Hermione both in St. Mungo's. She was assigned to the part of the hospital where the unexplainable cases went. Hopefully another case would be explained before the full moon.

"Wish I could as well," Reida said. "But I've officially got a report to finish. I heard Ms. Granger's awoken. Not that I'm not pleased," she said hastily. "But it's almost the end of my shift."

Harry grinned. "Good luck with that." He turned to go but paused. "Reida?" he said suddenly.

"Mm?" Reida asked, pausing at the door, clipboard in hand.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Shoot," Reida said, looking at him, her head tilted.

"If, with a word, you could get me fight these Death Eaters, even when you know I don't want to, would you tell me to go, or would you let me stay?"

Reida looked at him hard. Then she sighed. "Harry, I've gotten to know you over the past few weeks and I know for a fact that no one's going to get you to do anything you don't want to. But to be entirely honest, I would tell you to go. And here's why," Reida said firmly. "Because despite everything you've gone through. Despite the pain you suffered five years ago and all the pain you're going through now, I know that you want to help. You can't help it. You help people when they need help and if what the newspapers say is true, you've been doing it all your life. You're kidding yourself if you think its going to go away and you're kidding yourself if you think you don't really want to help. You do. You're just waiting for the dramatic entrance." With a slight smile, she pushed open the door. Harry heard her greet Hermione and Ron happily.

He sighed. "Whatever I want," he muttered to himself. "I'm about to go anyway."

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

"So what exactly are we looking for?" Harry asked.

"A person," Ron said. "Hermione says he invented the spell that's got Remus and only he knows how to take it off."

"And she learned all this from Remus's mind?"

"Apparently she had to get through a trap that was guarding Remus's mind. That's what took so long. Apparently it was a series of tests. That's where she learned most of her information."

"I've heard that those kind of spells take a lot out of a person," Harry said nonchalantly. "If she lasted a week, she must have been powerful enough to do it."

Ron's eyes flickered to Harry. Once again he had the impression that Ron wasn't telling him everything. "I'm impressed, personally."

"So what's this person look like?" Harry asked. Again with the eye flicker.

"Not sure entirely. Hermione said she just got a location, not a name or appearance."

"So we're going to Malfoy Manor for a person we don't know at all for the counter curse to a spell we don't know the name of?"

"That's about it," Ron said, nodding. "Just like old times, eh?"

"Just like old times," Harry agreed. He took a deep breath. "Meet me half a mile from the house?"

Ron nodded.

Harry Disapperated with a pop and appeared in the middle of the woods. Clearly it had just rained because the dirt had turned into a thick mud. Ron was a second behind.

"Very nice," Ron said sarcastically.

"This is what you've been doing?" Harry said jokingly. "No wonder I was so reluctant."

"Ha ha," Ron said. "Hey, do you-"

Harry cut him off with a wave. He had heard something in the woods. He put a finger to his lips and proceeded toward the sound on near silent feet. Ron followed, equally as quiet.

It seemed whatever he had heard was stalking them, too because Harry didn't hear another sound, but he'd been sure of it the first time. He motioned for Ron to stop moving. The little noise they were making was enough to summon the thing to them.

Harry stood listening for a full minute and heard nothing but his own and Ron's breathing. Suddenly Ron shifted behind him and before Harry could stop him, Ron whispered, "What did you hear?"

Harry's eyes widened and the next second a beast came shooting out of the trees and hit Ron in the chest. Ron yelled and fell back under its weight and hit the forest floor hard, the beast standing on his chest. Harry hit it in the chest with a well placed jinx and it flew backwards and hit a tree. It was on its feet when it his the ground and was at their throats in seconds.

It was a giant spotted cat, far too large to be a real leopard, but it resembled one just the same. For a horrifying moment, Harry thought it might be a Nundu, before he realized that his hex had knocked it back and he had heard it in the jungle. The vastly dangerous Nundu is nearly impenetrable to spells and deathly silent.

Harry had very little time to decide what it really was, however, because at that moment, the leopard leapt directly at his throat. Harry dropped to the ground hard, feeling the beast's powerful claws graze his hair. He spun on one foot and raised his wand to attempt stunning the beast.

But it was gone.

"What was that thing?" Ron asked, his voice oddly high pitched.

Harry heard a rush of wing and jumped at Ron just in time. He grabbed Ron's legs and they went crashing to the ground just in time to prevent the flying creature tearing out their eyes. It too vanished into the night.

Harry held a finger over his mouth. Ron nodded, his face white. Slowly and carefully, Harry lifted himself to his feet, thankful for the mud that muffled all sounds, even if it was now stuck all over his robes.

Running feet came at them again, but this time, Harry was ready. He turned to face the cat but instead found himself facing a wolf, its teeth bared in a snarl.

Harry threw a stunning hex at it but the wolf dodged, rolling off to the side and on its feet in an instant.

"I think we're dealing with the same animal here," Ron said to Harry as the wolf made another attack, which Harry barely dodged.

"The only animal I know that shape shifts is the Kelpie and it's water dwelling!" Harry said, throwing another hex at the wolf to distract its attention from Ron.

"How do you stop a Kelpie?" Ron asked.

Harry's mind snapped into place. He sent a stunning hex that the wolf easily dodged, moving to the right at the last second. Harry anticipated the move and sent another charm at the beast while it was off balance.

A bridal appeared over the wolf's head and the next instant, the wolf stopped, looked around, and promptly sat down panting, its tongue lolling out.

"What did you do?" Ron asked, careful to keep his voice low.

"Subdued a Kelpie," Harry said, looking in puzzlement at the docile creature. "But that doesn't make any sense. Kelpies have to stay in water."

"There's a lot that doesn't make sense in this place," Ron said. "Kind of creeps me out. Lets get in and out as fast as we can."

"Agreed," Harry said. He conjured a rope and tied it to the dog bridle, then tied the other end to a tree. "Let's go."

They made their way toward the mansion without speaking, careful to make as little noise as possible on the wet ground. For the first time in five years, Harry felt the excitement of an adventure, something he'd been careful to avoid since the incident. He subdued the feeling. Someone could die here tonight. Someone like Ron.

They walked for what seemed like ages before Harry pulled up short, frowning.

Ron sent a questioning look his way. Harry shook his head. Slowly and carefully, Harry raise trembling fingers. The next second he withdrew them sharply. A tingling had suddenly and unexpectedly shot down his arm.

"There's some kind of barrier here," he whispered quietly to Ron. "I can feel it."

"What kind?" Ron asked, just as quietly.

Harry shook his head. He didn't know, but somehow, he knew how to get through it.

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Harry paced nervously up and down the small room. He had no idea where he was in Malfoy Mansion and for some reason, Hermione had seen fit to send the kid after him!

He sighed and looked out the window at the boy fighting the Kelpie. "It's a simple charm, you numbskull," he muttered darkly. "Cast the light of truth on it and it dies!" He couldn't watch. It was too pathetic. Had _no one _else been available to help him?

He ran his fingers through his hair. He knew he had to calm down. He forced himself to sit and assess the situation.

He was in Malfoy Manor. He didn't know where, but he knew that wherever he was, Malfoy was keeping him unconscious. The stupid git knew just about the only thing in the world that could completely stop him from doing anything, so he was trapped in his own mind, playing out this stupid scenario in stupid attempt to keep himself from falling completely asleep. He was tempted for a moment to simply cease this stupid mental trick and just go unconscious.

__

And let someone kill you? asked the mental voice in his head.

__

It doesn't matter! Harry said angrily back to it, in essence, arguing with himself. _All I can do at this point is watch myself die._

He knew the argument was stupid, but he had nothing better to do that watch his 'rescue team' kill itself.

Wait.

Harry stood up from his place on the floor and went to the window. It wasn't a window really. It was simply his outer awareness. He was, in essence, asleep. Normally when people sleep, they dream, but when he was summoned to Hermione's aid, he was pulled out of his own head and dreams and into another's. Therefore, when he returned to his own head, weak and barely functional, he was nevertheless able to retain the state of awareness that had transpired over his time with Hermione. The window allowed him to see outside himself to certain things he wished to see. His connection with the Potter boy allowed him to watch him, even in his semi-conscious state.

The Potter boy had, at this point, placed a bridle over the Kelpie's head which, Harry supposed, was the non-lethal way to subdue one, and proceeded through the forest with Ron at his side. They were about three feet from walking straight into a shimmering silver barrier they didn't appear to see. Suddenly the Potter boy stopped and stretched out a hand as though to touch it, but withdrew it at the last minute. Harry sighed in relief. One step through that barrier would have painfully shredded them into a billion tiny pieces.

"He doesn't have a clue how to take that down, you know," said a voice behind Harry. He whirled around. It was Ron. Or rather, not Ron, but Hermione's guide through the spell. It was fate.

"Why are you here?" Harry asked tiredly. "Surely you can't ask anything of me now, when I'm unconscious."

Ron smiled slightly. "You'd be surprised what you could accomplish in this state. For example, did you know that that boy down there had no idea there was a spell there, blocking his way?"

Harry sighed. "So, once again, it's up to me to lead the boy through whatever dangers lie in his path. Did you ever think that maybe he needed to learn some things on his own?"

Ron's smile didn't fade. "You have a connection with the boy because you're the same person. You know that. Because of the connection, you were able to stop him from killing himself without knowing what you were doing. That's because of your connection with him. It doesn't require a connection, however, to impose your will on someone. It just makes it easier."

Harry nodded. That made sense. "How far can I take this?"

"Until your literally seeing through the person's eyes. With the Potter boy, you could completely control him."

Harry smiled humorlessly. "But you don't want me to take over the Potter boy."

"No."

"You want him to learn."

"He must."

"Who do you think you are? Dumbledore?"

Ron smiled slightly. "The time will come when there is only one Harry to reside over the world. He must be ready to step up."

"You mean this world," Harry said. Harry didn't really think fate made grammatical mistakes, but he decided not to think about it and shrugged it off. "Well, thanks for the tip. Just a question, but don't you have something better to do than obsessively watch the comings and goings of a single person?"

"Oh, it's not obsessively," Ron said with a smirk. "In fact, it's more like a passing glance. But compared to all the people in the world that I must pay attention to, you should be flattered."

"I am," Harry said sarcastically. He looked back at the window. No one had moved an inch since he had last looked over there.

"Privileges of being fate," Ron said with a smirk. "They move when I leave."

"Bye," Harry said without removing his gaze from the window.

Ron snorted derisively. "Give him an inch and he takes a mile."

"It's human nature to want more than you have."

"And you're human," Ron said pointedly. "I am fate. Remember your place." He turned on his heal and vanished into the wall.

"I do," Harry muttered. The window flickered and began to move.

"""""""""""""

A/N: Another down! This fic is almost over. I have this really amazing idea for a sequel to this one that would really answer a lot of questions about the two universes and stuff, but I'll see if I can finish this one before going to another. I don't know if you've noticed this, but my heart really hasn't been in this fic and I'm really anxious to go on to another. :) Thanks for still reviewing!

Gilthas


	13. Checkmate

A/N: Do you know why books have chapters? It's because way back when, authors would publish their stories in the newspaper and every day they'd post the next chapter. (Day? Or was it week? Anyway...). They'd always put an exciting cliffhanger at the end of every chapter to keep people coming back...

Yeah.

Please keep that in mind at the end of this chapter.

''''''''''''''''''

Chapter 13: Checkmate

Harry squinted but saw nothing. Still, he had the distinct _impression _that something was there.

"It's a Net," Ron said suddenly from behind him.

"A Net?" Harry asked, looking at Ron sharply. "A second ago you couldn't even tell there was anything there."

"I dunno," Ron said blankly. "I can kind of sense something there now that I'm concentrating, but for some reason I'm completely certain that it's a Net."

"That's a really powerful spell," Harry said, looking suspiciously at where he sensed the barrier to be. "Not many people know how to do it."

"I've done this a hundred more times than you have," Ron said, annoyed. "Trust me when I say, the Death Eaters are capable of it. Do you know how to take it down?"

"Kind of," Harry said, nodding.

"With the repelling charm?"

"Since when did you get so demanding?" Harry asked, annoyed himself.

Ron shook his head. "Okay, I won't help."

"This isn't a class," Harry said. "You're not supposed to be trying to teach me to do it. You're supposed to be helping me save the person who can save Remus."

"Sorry," Ron muttered. "I was just really annoyed for some reason. You use the repelling charm, by the way. Combined with a--"

"Disapparition," Harry said, nodding. "I know." Raising his wand, he muttered the appropriate words and the space in front of them shimmered silver for a moment before disappearing.

"Let's go," Ron walking unheedingly past the area the barrier was.

"Hold on a minute!" Harry said quickly, grabbing Ron's arm. "What if there are others?"

"Do you see any more?" Ron asked, glancing around. "Between the Kelpie and the Net, Malfoy probably thought you'd never see the light of another day."

"There's probably Death Eaters every where!" Harry hissed, taking heed to his own words and lowering his voice.

"All the Death Eaters are clamoring for power," Ron pointed out, albeit quieter. "Do you really think he's going to trust Death Eaters to guard the place he sleeps?"

Harry was forced to conceded the point. "I suppose I've been out of it a little too long."

Ron shrugged. "Oh well. We should probably be quiet anyway, just in case."

They continued in silence.

''''''''''''''''

Harry watched the forest through Ron's eyes, faintly amused. He could feel his own annoyance and irritation at the Potter boy seeping through into Ron. He vaguely wished he could control Ron completely, so he could control the boy's mouth and not upset Potter worse than he had to. It would also be nice not having to explain everything to Ron so he would explain it to Harry.

Ron, of course, had no idea what was going on. He probably assumed he was pulling it out of his memory.

Harry watched as they walked through the forest. He honestly didn't believe there were any other barriers to watch out for. Malfoy was far too overconfident when it came to his own abilities (and why shouldn't he be? In his opinion, he'd beaten the only real rival he had...or so he thought) and was to distrustful to ask his minions for help. Still, it never hurt to help and in this instance, it was much better to be wary. But his confidence was sneaking into Ron and the idiot wasn't paying attention and if he wasn't paying attention, Harry couldn't more obstacles through his eyes.

They made it to the mansion without incident. Harry was relieved to find himself so close to...himself (however that worked out) but he knew that inside the manor, things would only get worse. After all, anything that could knock _him _out was a force to be reckoned with.

They snuck through the halls, making far more noise than they should have but at least sticking to the shadows. Harry watched his counterpart through Ron's eyes with a sort of miffed disbelief. Had he ever been that--there was no other word for it--_bad _at sneaking? He had to be stepping on the wrong part of every step with the heal of his foot! The idiot! Of course, he knew he'd probably be twitching if he could see Ron walk. Between them, there was enough noise to wake a dying bat.

Ron seemed to be getting anxious too and in his anxiety to be quiet, he was making more noise than ever.

_You're toes, you idiot! You're going to wake the dead if you keep walking on your heels!_

_Who said that?_

Harry had been thinking rather loudly and angrily, but he hadn't honestly expected Ron to hear. It seemed, however, that the kid was finally aware there was someone else in his head.

_Harry Potter._

_Which one?_

_Which one do you think? _Harry thought sarcastically. _The one walking on his heels in front of you, or the sarcastic one that's missing?_

_Oh._

_You're still walking on your heels._

Ron quickly corrected the matter.

_How did you get into my head?_

_Fate, _Harry said truthfully, smirking a little inside.

_No, really. It's a little disconcerting._

_Fine, don't believe me if you don't want to. Does the kid have any idea where he's going, or is he just hoping to bump into something?_

_I dunno._

Harry could have hit him. _The why don't you _ask _him?_

"Harry!" Ron whispered. "Do you know where you're going?"

"Oddly," Harry whispered back, "Yes."

"How do you know?"

"There's something...tugging at me," Harry whispered with a shrug. "Like there's some invisible string tied to me and my destination and the person at the other end keeps pulling it."

_Is that normal? _Ron asked Harry.

_Is anything about that kid normal?_

_You're him! _Ron thought, defending his friend. _You tell me!_

_No._

_Solves that mystery._

They walked in silence for a moment before something seemed to occur to Ron.

_Hey, what is it exactly that has enough power to take you out?_

Harry cringed slightly inside. _A missing link, _he said evasively. _Something I hadn't counted on._

_Then how are we supposed to get by it._

_Let's just say, it doesn't hate you quite as much._

_That's reassuring, but what is it exactly?_

_Someone's soul, torn out, and placed into a small metal ball._

_What?_

_The Draco Malfoy from my dimension thought it would be funny to stick around after I killed him by putting a piece of his soul into a talisman, in essence, existing, even though he's dead. He's still conscious and alive in that talisman, possessing every ability he had before he died._

_Sounds pretty nasty. How are we supposed to beat two Malfoys? _

_You're not. You're supposed to wake me up so I can do it._

_Sounds like a plan._

The conversation was brought to an abrupt halt, however, when the Harry in front suddenly stopped. They had reached a corridor with four doors and the Potter boy didn't seem to know which one to take.

Suddenly and without warning, the corridor was filled with an ear-piercing yell. His rescuers jerked back, suddenly horrified and wary at the same time. "_WAKE UP!_"

_That's my cue, _Harry thought sarcastically_. Good luck._

With that, he left Ron's mind and found himself back in the little room of his mind. He closed his eyes and thought of the place his body was, without ever leaving the room, just to check up on it. If he left the room he wouldn't be able to get back.

Instantly, his body was wracked with terrible pain that came so suddenly and unexpectedly that he gasped and jerked his eyes open, welcoming the sight of the plain room around him. He winced slightly, glad there was no one around to see it. Looks like Malfoy was getting creative in his reviving methods. He had better get down there before Malfoy got tired and just killed him.

Closing his eyes again and hardening himself for the pain, he mentally stretched out to his body. The pain came back, every inch of his skin on fire while every vital organ appeared pierced with a hundred needles, but he managed to block most of it out and opened his eyes--or rather one eye--to reality.

His left eye appeared swollen shut and as his body drew in its first breath through wracked lungs, pain seared inside him and he coughed blood.

"I see sleeping beauty finally found the needle," said a drawling voice above him.

"I see you don't know your fairy tails," Harry said, more than a little appalled to find only half his face working. It seemed Malfoy was right handed. His face remained frozen, however. "What'd you do, Malfoy? Hit me with a dozen Cruciatus when I wasn't even in my body? Smart."

Malfoy's eyes most likely narrowed at this point, but it was hard to tell through the combined efforts of streaming blood, no glasses, and lack of depth perception. Harry found himself immensely happy he could just lift his head. He hadn't been through this sort of torture since the night Voldemort attacked. Of course, he hadn't been caught off guard since that night either.

Malfoy had no witty response to Harry's last comment, so he swiftly bypassed it. "I suppose you're wondering why I woke you?"

"And I suppose you're wondering why I made the decision to wake up."

"It had passed my mind," Malfoy said, smirking. "After all, things would have been immensely easier on you had you simply stayed asleep."

"You really don't get it, do you?" Harry asked, managing to shake his head derisively and absurdly pleased with himself for the small victory. "I'm on a completely different playing field as you. It's like taking candy from a baby, I swear."

"I'm not the one tied up on the floor!" Malfoy snapped. "I think perhaps I'm the one holding all the cards!"

"Tell me," Harry said, managing to pull some strength back into his voice. He stopped his eyes darting to the door. Where were Ron and Harry? "Did a little voice in the back of your head tell you not to come down here?"

Malfoy's eyes flickered and Harry managed a smirk on the good side of his face. "It's gotten a little louder than a little voice, hasn't it, Malfoy? It seemed great at first, didn't it? A little talisman that responded to your every need. But now it wants things, doesn't it? It needs a body, doesn't it? What's a soul with no body? Does it want yours?"

"No," Malfoy said, a wide smirk slowly crossing his features. "It wants yours."

Harry's good eye widened for a fraction of a second. Of course. He had said everything. He had _known _everything and _it still hadn't clicked! _This Malfoy before him wasn't in the same league as him. The other Malfoy's trapped soul wanted something with a little more power. Something with more ability. That was what it was all about, idiot Malfoy's stupid second chance. His travel between dimensions. The sudden transport to the hospital. How Malfoy had managed to use the talisman to defeat him before he even knew how it worked. He had reawoken when he heard Malfoy shouting at him. The souls had to be exchanged, not implanted. Otherwise, he would be able to fight Malfoy for control of his body and inevitably win.

But there was one thing that Malfoy had not counted on.

Fate.

Fate had pulled him into Hermione's mind, reawakened him. Fate had told him not to tell Hermione how to help Remus. He told Harry to send for help. He told Harry how to communicate with his rescuers, doubtlessly in an attempt to keep him from his body, to save him from this fate.

And that gave him hope.

For once, someone was watching out for him.

All these thoughts occurred in that tiny split second as his eyes widened, the next, his body was consumed in flame. All he could think about was getting out of that room before Malfoy had a chance to steal his soul.

Light above, he had never been so desperate.

The fire that burned around him was of his own making, cold to him and hotter than the sun to all around him. The ceiling above caught fire and burned. He writhed in his bindings, trying get out, his hands bound by chains rather than ropes. The fire was heating the chains to dangerous levels and while the fire was cold, the chains were not. He spared a glance for Malfoy and his heart skipped a beat. The fire was doing nothing to prevent him from casting his spell.

Harry's mind raced. If he remembered the spell correctly, any minute now...

He pulled at his burning chains with every ounce of strength he had. They were burning his wrists like fire itself. A desperate thought zipped through his mind. _I don't have a wand and to control wandless magic generally requires my hands. _Followed by a more depressing thought of, _I'm screwed._

He stopped the flames as the chains became too hot for him to handle. The next second he summoned ice, which, unfortunately, was no so kind as fire and froze him as well as the chains. But the sudden temperature change had weakened the metal and with a furious tug, he pulled them apart. The ice vanished and without a thought, sent a fireball straight at Malfoy's unexposed head.

It bounced back.

Harry said a few words he wasn't proud of.

A shield had appeared around him, trapping him physically and spiritually inside what seemed to be an invisible glass bubble. He had been fast, but not fast enough.

For the very first time in his entire life, Harry felt helpless. Completely and utterly helpless. There was nothing he could do. The spell was going, he was trapped, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Except...

"FOR THE LOVE OF GOD! GET IN HERE!"

Malfoy's eyes widened slightly and his words missed a beat. Harry's eyes latched onto the door with the sort of hunger that a starving man looks at food. It did not open.

Harry's heart pulled itself into his mouth and he felt his stomach knot up. So that was it. Some sentry he hadn't counted on had gotten hold of Ron and Harry and now there was no one, nothing that could save him.

Checkmate.

A/N: READ THE FIRST AUTHOR'S NOTE!


	14. The Final Step

A/N: Sorry about the wait! (and at such a bad part) but I got temporarily banned from the computer. I'm sure everyone will be happy to have a conclusion to this chapter. So, without further adu, here it is.

''''

Chapter 14: The Final Step

So this was how he would die. Alone. Filled with physical pain from Malfoy and that of his own doing.

He face hurt.

His wrists hurt.

His lungs hurt.

He was tired.

So tired.

He could barely bring himself to fight anymore. For what? What did he have that was worth this kind of pain?

"So this is how it ends," said a soft voice above him. Harry realized that he'd dropped to his knees.

He looked up to see the form of Draco Malfoy standing above him. The Malfoy from his dimension. Harry remembered giving him that scar above his left eye.

"I feared you for so long, Potter. You never knew. I'm good at hiding things. But now," he bent down to look at Harry on his level. "You look so pathetic."

Anger filled Harry. He had no right. No _right._ What did he have to do to get rid of him? Burn his body and water down the ashes?

Light flickered overhead as the ceiling burned.

"It's come down to this," Draco said conversationally. "Our little school boy spat. Had you ever thought that if you had taken my hand that first day, you might be living a good life right about now? You know, instead of slowly getting your soul ripped out of you by your arch rival?"

Harry managed a small laugh. "Is that what you fancy yourself, Malfoy? My arch rival? You--" He coughed slightly but weathered on. "--have no idea what it takes to be an arch rival. For one, you have to consistently not die. Whoops. I've already killed you once, haven't I?"

"Funny Potter," Malfoy said, his humor unshaken. "But doesn't the definition of arch rival include my killing you? Think of it as pay back. What goes around comes around."

Harry told Malfoy to go do something that he would not have repeated in front of Mrs. Weasley.

"Language, Potter. I thought you were the good little boy."

"What dimension do you think I'm from?" Harry asked. He suddenly squinted at Malfoy. His outline was getting fuzzy, and Harry knew it wasn't his own lack of glasses. He could see the Malfoy performing the spell directly through the head of the Malfoy in front of him.

"Get back!" Harry yelled, jerking himself away from Malfoy. He felt contaminated, dirty. Malfoy's slimy soul was inching its way into him, bit by bit. He clawed at his own skin, feeling something like poison sifting through his veins. "Is this the face you want!" Harry screamed at him, no longer feeling pain or hopelessness, feeling only his all consuming fury at the slowly disappearing figure in front of him. "Is this the person you want to be for the rest of your existence? Hell, take it! I don't even want it anymore!"

"Thanks," Malfoy said in his drawling voice, his smirk coming to his face. "I think I will."

Harry felt something entering him then, faster than before and he fought it off with every ounce of his being. But it wasn't enough. It was never enough. Nothing he did was ever enough.

"Hold on!"

Harry's head jerked up and for an instant, Malfoy gained the advantage. The figure in front of him, held back by the same bubble that prevented Harry from leaving, vanished.

Harry felt Malfoy's consciousness sliding in to replace his at the same time he felt himself parting with his body.

_I won't go out like this, _Harry thought. _However I die, it won't be like this. _

And he fought. He pushed the invading soul out of him as hard as he could, feeling the battle raging under his skin. Something was happening outside the bubble, something important, but Harry couldn't let that distract him. Slowly he was gaining ground, pushing Malfoy's clutchy soul out of his body. Malfoy's figure slowly began to materialize in front of him.

"Not this time, Potter," Malfoy growled. He slammed his hands, which were only semi-transparent into Harry's chest and Harry felt something cold grab his heart.

"Go to hell, Malfoy," Harry growled and, using both hands, plunged his hands into Malfoy's semi-transparent chest. His fingers found something cold and hard where Malfoy's heart should have been. Fitting, in a way. He summoned fire with the final vestiges of his strength and after several seconds that seemed like an eternity, the metal ball, that horrible talisman, melted in his hands.

Malfoy screamed as his soul's only anchor to the living world was severed. Harry screamed as Malfoy's soul was ripped out of him by powers stronger even than his.

Silence.

The metal made a hissing noise as it dribbled between Harry's fingers and hit the cold stone floor.

Harry blinked around at the world with his single good eye. The bubble was gone. He blinked again. He hadn't remembered it being so dark. Was it dark? Was that the ceiling that was burning? Surely that should be bright.

He couldn't piece together his thoughts.

Everything hurt and nothing looked like it was supposed to and from far away, he heard the seductive voice of sleep calling to him. How easy to slip off. How simple to leave the world behind for a little while. He was so tired. Wasn't it his turn to let someone rescue him?

But he there was still something he needed to do. He knew there was. Something...

His brain seemed fogged.

"Harry!"

Harry blinked and forced himself to focus. It was the most difficult thing he had ever asked himself to do in his entire life.

"Are you okay?"

A familiar face floated in front of him. Why was it floating like that? Was it floating, or was he floating? He tried to blink it into focus, but combined with his lack of glasses and his lack of coherent thought, it wasn't making any sense.

"I'm fine."

Why had he said that? After all, he was floating. Unless the head was floating. It was all too confusing. He would think about it later.

"Harry?" It was a second figure. No. It was himself. That much he could tell.

"Harold," Harry heard his mouth say. "Harold Smith." He was talking to himself.

And why had he said that? Surely he couldn't be doing all this speaking thing on his own.

"You can help Remus?"

"I can try."

Harry shook his head. He was staging an entire conversation with absolutely no idea what he was saying or what it meant. His mouth seemed to be talking for him.

"We've got to get him out of here," said a second voice. The one in front. That one had red hair. It was pleasantly red, but it was floating far too high in the air. Harry was having to look up at it. "Can you walk?"

"Can you?" Harry asked. He was sure he'd asked that one. He'd asked to make sure he could still control his own mouth. "I mean, yes. I can." Why had he said that? He would much prefer them to carry him. He was so tired.

"We have to leave now," said the red haired floating head. "This place is on fire. I'm not entirely sure what happened, but it's getting really hot and we have to leave."

Harry vaguely registered the heat. Oh. That must be what they were talking about.

"This way," said the head of himself. "I think I can get us out of here. Are you sure you can walk? You look like you've been through a meat grinder."

"You do if I do," Harry muttered. There was a roaring in the background. Oh yes. That must be the fire they were talking about. "It's rather hot in here."

"He's delirious," said the high floating red head. "But he can walk."

The head that was Harry's head started in the other direction and Harry felt a hand on hi arm, pulling him that way.

After that they were moving too fast to make out much. Harry found that walking was easier than he expected. After all, he couldn't fell his legs. It was very dark outside the room, other than the heads in front of him looking back at him once in a while.

Oddly, instead of getting better, his head seemed to be getting worse. Suddenly the sounds of their feet hitting the floor was loud, drumming him his ears. He had to keep blinking his good eye to prevent the dark around him from blinding him completely. None of his senses seemed to be working properly and his brain seemed made of mush. He tried shaking his head to clear it, but it only made his dizzy and stumble.

Despite the fact that he couldn't really feel his legs, he was getting tired fast. He was panting with the effort and every breath seared his burnt lungs. He tried to ask the red one to slow down, but he couldn't get the words around his dry and swollen tongue and the red one seemed to be in hurry.

Harry felt hot all over. There was a roaring in his ears that blocked out all the noise...except for the sound of their hurrying feet.

The feet became a focus and he concentrated on it, ignoring the stinging in his lungs, the pain in all his skin, and the throbbing in his skull.

Finally, they stopped.

"You have the portkey?" asked the red one.

"Got it," Harry saw himself say.

"Now, Harr-old," said the red one, looking at him in concern. "You need to put a finger on this box--"

"I've used a portkey a hundred times," Harry said, irritated. Where had that come from. A second ago he hadn't the breath to talk, now he was sounding annoyed. Of course, he wasn't a child, after all.

The other him held out a small wooden box and the red one put a hand on it. Harry reached out to place a hand on it as well, but recoiled when he saw his scabbed, blood stained hand. He looked at it in horror.

"We'll get it fixed up later," the red one said quickly. He grabbed Harry's wrist, sending pain through Harry's arm, and placed it on the wooden box. The next second, Harry felt a jerk and he was spinning and as he spun there, he felt some inner strength leave him. The next second, his world turned black.

'''''

A/N: I'm sure you were all thinking he was going to die there, but no! Not quite. I wasn't sure how to end the story, so the next two chapters are epilogues. Like I said, wasn't sure. But anyway, I try to wrap a few things up there, so woot! Read and Review!


	15. EpiloguePart 1

A/N: Well...I feel kind of stupid updating after the book. sob I can't believe she killed that character! I won't say who it is though in the off chance someone hasn't read the book. So anyway, this is the last chapter that will make since if you haven't read my other stories. Just a warning.

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Chapter 15: Epilogue--Part 1

Harry heard the noises before they registered to him. His head was pounding. He instinctively shut it out. He sat there for a moment, unmoving, not sure where he was. It was never smart to announce yourself before you assessed the situation.

"I swear to God, I have never seen some turned inside out and still able to walk on his own. That is the strongest person I've ever met."

Memories rushed back to him. Malfoy. The soul exchange. The fire. The disoriented run from the mansion. His hands...

Before he could stop himself, he sat up with a jolt and stared at his hands, for an instant, seeing them bloody and burned before realizing they were whole and healed. Wincing at his carelessness, Harry looked around him, hoping to see nurses instead of Death Eaters. It was a hospital to be sure. He cringed to see himself in the impractical hospital garb. There was more than one way to confine a person to bed. The voices had been continuing throughout his self examination and he realized that he had tuned them out. He began listening again as he heard a muffled voice say, "The nurses said we could wake him!"

"Maybe you should let me check on him first," said a definitely female voice. "I know him better than you, after all. I don't want to overwhelm him right when he's doing better."

Whoever she was talking to sighed impatiently. "_Hurry._"

The door opened very slightly and a figure with bushy brown hair slipped through.

"Harold!" She said with relief, telling Harry with one word who the other person at the door was. "It's so good to see you awake! We were very worried about you." As though she suspected he didn't get the point, she gestured toward the door with a meaningful expression. "Are you feeling well enough to have visitors?"

Harry sighed. "It's too soon for this type of nonsense," he muttered, careful to keep his voice down. He looked around. "Wand?"

Hermione pulled it out of her pocket. "I didn't want him to see it," she whispered, nodding toward the door again as though he was daft.

Harry accepted the wand gratefully. It seemed to warm under his fingers. "What did I look like when I came in?" At her expression, he clarified. "What features were distinguishable? Hair color? Eye?"

"Hair," Hermione said, nodding. "It was too dark to see much of anything else. And you're face was, well, quite disfigured."

"Excellent," Harry said. Hermione gave him a look that said it wasn't excellent to her. Harry felt compelled to clarify. "That means I have some liberty with my facial features. Mirror."

Hermione pulled one out of her bag. "I thought you might ask," she explained.

Harry flipped open the tiny mirror and looked at his reflection.

"I look terrible," he said. Fortunately, he didn't look up just then or else he would have seen Hermione hide a smile behind her hands. His face was thin and gaunt, rather blotchy with wounds that weren't entirely healed. Shaking his head to clear it, he moved his wand around his face. Where the wand touched, his features changed. His he specifically turned dark blue, but the for the rest of it, he let the wand decided. It didn't matter to him. When he decided his face was sufficiently changed, Harry closed the mirror and handed it back to Hermione.

"Don't even recognize you," Hermione said.

"Let's hope the kid doesn't either," Harry said. "You can see right through it if you know what you're looking for."

There was an impatient knock on the door. "Can I come in?"

Harry stuffed his wand under his pillow and nodded to Hermione.

"Come on in, Harry," she called.

Harry saw himself stick his head in the door.

"You look terrible," his other self said. This time, Harry saw Hermione hide her smile. Oddly, he almost wanted to smile back. He must be high on pain killers.

"You don't look so good yourself," Harry said, managing a cheerful grin on his newly round face. "Thanks for breaking me out, by the way."

"No problem," Other Harry said, shrugging. _Yeah, especially since I was helping you every step of the way, _Harry thought to himself, but it lacked the usual annoyance. "You claim you can help Remus?"

"Yes," Harry said, nodding. "Combined hexes are one of my specialties."

"One of many, of course," Hermione said, keeping her face carefully neutral. Both Harry glanced at her.

"Sounds like something I would say," Harry said with a broad grin. "But she's right. I also do a lot of undercover work. Which begs the question, is Malfoy dead?"

"Malfoy?" Other Harry asked. "I thought the only people that called him Malfoy were the people who went to school with him."

"Too much time around Hermione, I suppose," Harry said, shrugging. The kid's suspicious questions confirmed some of Harry's worries. Although the kid didn't know to look for specific masking charms, he felt there was something off about Harry. "But did you kill him?"

Harry looked at him for a moment, as though sizing him up. Then, slowly, he nodded. "Malfoy's dead."

Harry gave an exaggerated sigh of relief. "I thought we'd never get him, not without Harry Potter's help, at least."

Hermione cleared her throat. "Actually, Harold, this _is _Harry Potter."

The kid gave her an exasperated look. "For God's sake, Hermione. I get one person I can talk to and you ruin it for me!"

"Are you Harry Potter for real?" Harry asked excitedly, sitting up straighter. "I had no idea, sir! Thank you for your help! Thank you very much! Imagine! Harry Potter come to save the likes of me!"

The kid stood up quickly. "Well, I'll let Hermione get the technical stuff done. I really should be going. I'll tell Remus the good news." With that, he quickly left.

Hermione let out a sigh of relief. Harry put a finger to his lips and motioned toward the door, giving Hermione's intelligence the benefit of a doubt and assuming she could figure it out.

Nodding, she hurried to the door and peeked out. "Gone," she said before coming back to the bedside.

"I will need clothes," Harry said, picking at his dressing gown distastefully. "And quickly. The sooner I can walk around the better." Suddenly he stopped. "How many days until the full moon?"

"Just one," Hermione said. "And you know how unpredictable that werewolf thing is. It could happen sooner."

"Then as soon as I have my _clothes,_" Harry said pointedly, "I'll help him out."

"Let's just say your original clothes had seen better days and had to be thrown out," Hermione said. Suddenly a small smile crept onto her face. "Originally I bought these as a joke, but after meeting Harold, I think they'll fit you well."

Harry opened his mouth slightly in complete disgust. She pulled out of her bag a new pair of robes. Hawaiian robes. Harry had never seen anything so repulsive in his life.

"That was exactly the reaction I was hoping for," Hermione said, laughing.

"I will not wear that," Harry said stiffly.

"Of course," Hermione said, laying the clothes neatly on the bed. "But then again, they seem just the sort of thing Harold would wear."

Harry scowled. He opened his mouth to respond wittily but just then, the door opened.

"Did you give him the clothes?" asked Ron, poking his head in. When he saw Harry's face, he looked embarrassed. "Sorry, wrong room."

"Don't be silly," said Hermione, looking around at him. "Come on in."

Ron looked from Hermione to Harry's round face and burst out laughing. "I'm guessing you didn't pick the face!"

Harry scowled. "I didn't really care what I looked like. And I don't want the robes."

"That's definitely him," Ron said, still laughing. "Wow, Harry! I didn't know what to expect after last night, but whatever it was, it wasn't this!"

"Ha ha," Harry sarcastically. He tried to fit in a scathing comment, but at his last words, Hermione's laughter had joined Ron's and drowned out. It was rather infectious. Harry actually found himself smiling sheepishly.

"Knew I'd get a smile out of you before you left this time!" Hermione said triumphantly. Harry's smile vanished, but Hermione's widened. She tossed the robes at him. "We'll let you get changed. Come on, Ron."

She got up to go, but Ron hung back a minute, his eyes sparkling happily. "Have you heard? About the Death Eaters?"

"Malfoy's defeat?" Harry asked, grateful to take his mind off the horrendous clothes.

"It's more than that," Ron said. "You burned Malfoy mansion to the ground. Everything that was anything to the Death Eater's cause was in that mansion. We passed half of it on the way out. Weapons, plans, just about everything. You may not have noticed in your state. All reports say the Death Eaters are scattering. None of them know what to do and their all convinced the fight is over. After all, if Harry Potter's joined the cause..."

Harry nodded. With all the excitement out of the way, he was feeling rather drained and tired. Somehow, he would never figure out why, but Hermione had a funny knack for knowing what he was thinking (Occlemency? Surely not.) and she took Ron by the arm and gently led him to the door. "I think Harry needs some rest. He's been having to do a lot of healing in a short time and he's probably exhausted."

Harry looked at Hermione gratefully as she led Ron out of the room. "Oh, Harry," she said, pausing at the door. "All jokes aside, you'll need to wear those robes."

Harry glared at her retreating back, but couldn't make himself do anything else. The pillows seemed extremely comfortable and before he knew what was happening, he was asleep.

_He was sitting a room. It was extremely familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. There were three sofas in the room. He was sitting on the middle one. There were three doors. One, he knew, led to the outside. The other led to a hallway, and the other led to the kitchen/dinning room area. He knew the place well. And yet, he knew there was something missing._

_The door to the kitchen opened and Ron stepped out. Ah. That was it. The missing piece. This was Ron's house._

"_You're welcome," said Ron, sitting down on the sofa opposite him and grabbing a goblet of pumpkin juice that was sitting on the end table. _

"_For what?" Harry asked, oddly aware that this was a dream and at the same time, knowing that he shouldn't know that._

_Ron sighed. "Completely unrecognized. Oh well. I suppose I should give you some slack. You were, after all, half unconscious at the time."_

"_Ah," Harry said, understanding at last. He took another goblet of pumpkin juice that was sitting at his own end table. "The run from the mansion."_

"_Knew you were smart," Ron said, nodding._

"_Tell me," Harry said, taking a drink. He blinked in surprise. He hadn't had pumpkin juice in years and it was better than he remembered it being. He shook his head and looked back at Ron. "Why would fate get so completely and utterly involved in the affairs of mortals?"_

"_Your job's not done yet," Ron said with a shrug. "Had I not helped, you would have died. Trust me on that."_

_Suddenly something occurred to Harry. "So you're telling me that you were willing to help me escape from the mansion, but you weren't willing to help me beat Malfoy?"_

_Ron smirked over his pumpkin juice. "I'd have thought you'd figured that out now. I do only what I must to keep the timeline as unpolluted as I can. It's not easy with you jumping back and forth between dimensions, but I do what I can. Without my help, the kid would have known you were here. Oh, and you would have died, Remus would never have woken up, and all my plans for the future would have been ruined. Well," Ron had his holier-than-you expression on. "At least, as ruined as it can get from a single mortal."_

"_A damn powerful mortal at that," Harry muttered, taking a drink of pumpkin juice. _

"_Got that right," Ron muttered darkly. "Had no idea you could defeat a spell of that magnitude. Just about anyone else in the world would have been gone in an instant. That was half the reason I sent the Potter boy after you, figured he'd pull you out."_

"_Cheated fate, did I?" Harry asked, smirking. "I had no idea I was so important that you had to send people after me to save me."_

"_I said it was only half the reason," Ron said, shrugging. "The other half was to defeat Malfoy. The other half is because I would be in serious trouble if I let you die."_

_Harry laughed, thinking he was joking, but Ron did not smile back. "But you're fate. Who has the power to get you into trouble."_

_Ron smirked. "The only one I care about is myself."_

"_What does that mean?"_

"_I mean, the fate in your dimension would have my hide," Ron said, shrugging. "You've got a lot of things to do before you're done and not just here."_

"_So when do I go home?" Harry asked._

_Ron smiled slightly. "Actually, there's something quite important for you to do before you go back. I'm sure I'll understand."_

"_Wake Remus?"_

_Ron shook his head sadly. "Didn't I tell you that a single individual doesn't really impact the dealings of fate?"_

_Harry raised his eyebrows. _

"_Other than you, of course," Ron said dismissively. "But that's totally different."_

"_Clearly," Harry said. _

"_Well," Ron said, standing up, his pumpkin juice disappearing. "Got to go."_

"_See you later," Harry said, standing up as well._

_Ron raised his eyes brows. "Not for a while."_

"_But I will see you," Harry said, grinning slightly. Ron _almost _smiled back._

Harry opened his eyes. He was sitting in the hospital again. Those horrible clothes were sitting innocently on his bed.

"Stupid Hermione," Harry muttered, grabbing the clothes.

'''''''''''''''''

A/N: Pretty much the end now. I do have the Epilogue Part 2. Okay, well. I'm going to go cry. Then read the book for the third time. Then cry again.


	16. EpiloguePart 2

A/N: Tadda! The end! The very end! The very, very end! Now, this wraps up the part about Remus, but if you haven't finished reading 3003, it could be extremely confusing. Just a warning. I would honestly recommend reading 3003 before reading this chapter. :)

Chapter 16: Epilogue--Part 2

He had just finished changing when Ron stuck his head in. He could see Ron laughing at him with his eyes. He scowled angrily at him (although with his new, and apparently humorous face, it didn't have the same effect) and Ron seemed to understand that Harry didn't want him to say anything. "Do you need anything for the spell? A potion? Anything?"

"Nope," Harry said, walking past Ron out the door. "Barely even need my wand."

"Okay," Ron said, his happy mood completely undaunted (increased, in fact) by Harry's disgust over his robes. "This way."

Ron led Harry up two flights of stairs and down two separate hallways before pausing at the door.

"You sure you don't need anything?" Ron asked.

Harry fixed him with a completely serious gaze. "I need everyone to leave the room."

"Why!" Ron asked, unhappy about this new request.

"Because," Harry said, careful to pitch his voice low. "My new face will melt completely off when I stop paying attention to maintaining it and I don't want anyone to see it."

Ron seemed annoyed, but he complied, telling everyone in the room, Hermione, Sirius, the nurses, and the kid, that they had to leave. Harry smiled pleasantly as they filed past him, but glared at Sirius and Hermione when they smiled at his robes.

Then he entered the room.

Remus was looking at him, immobilized.

Harry locked the door, put an impenetrable spell on it, then removed his face charm. "Hey there, Remus. You missed a heck of a lot of action."

Remus didn't respond. He couldn't.

Harry sighed. "Okay, I'm going to take the charm off of you, and though it will only take a matter of seconds, it's a complicated charm and I don't want anyone getting suspicious, so we'll need to stay in here for a couple of minutes. Don't go banging on the door." He smiled slightly. For some reason, it was easier to smile lately. Maybe the happy mood was infectious.

He tapped Remus on the forehead with his wand, muttered a few words, then sat back.

Remus blinked. Gradually, as feeling was doubtlessly returning to his face, he began to move his facial features. Finally he was able to sit up.

"That's all it took?" He asked incredulously. "I've been sitting there for weeks and all you had to do was tap my forehead and speak a few words?"

Harry shrugged. "Don't blame them for not figuring it out. I designed it to be hard to remove." He smiled slightly.

"You designed at spell?"

"Yep. And now it's in standard use in Ministry of Magic for catching criminals they don't want to hurt. Only a few of the top rank employees know how to work it. No idea how Malfoy found out." He smirked. "Probably had it performed on him so many times he started to figure it out."

Remus rubbed his arms, wincing. "I have been so stiff. It's rather hard sitting there with Hermione crying because she thinks you'll die or Sirius coming in trying to be cheerful but looking like he hasn't eaten in weeks."

"Wasn't made for long term use," Harry said apologetically.

"Was that an apology?" Remus asked incredulously. "From you? What happened while I was down?"

"Nearly got my soul sucked out of me," Harry said. "I swear I thought I was going to die." He said the last part quietly, not even sure why he said it. But it was true, and he felt like there was less knotted up inside him once he got it out.

"That makes two of us. I suppose it was Malfoy?"

"Talisman Malfoy needed a host body," Harry said. "Got me before I realized what was happening. Had to have the kid break me out."

Remus's eyes narrowed. "Does he know about you?"

Harry shook his head. "From what I've heard. I wouldn't have been able to recognize myself that night. So I got here, changed my face--"

"And your clothes, I see," Remus said, smiling slightly. Harry scowled at him.

"I think we've wasted enough time," Harry said. He changed his face back and opened the door, breaking the impenetrable charm in the process. "Done," he announced to the waiting crowd.

"Already?" Hermione asked, standing up from her place on the floor. "We thought you'd be longer, so we sent Harry to get some drinks."

"In here," Remus called from the room.

Instantly Harry was forgotten as everyone in the hall hurried to greet Remus.

They were all talking excitedly, trying to fill Remus in with the events, punctuated by remarks of how happy they were to have him back.

Harry looked around at the happy room, feeling oddly isolated from it. Time for him to go. With a flick of his wand, his robes changed to black and his face changed back to its original appearance. He was preparing to disapperate when he felt a strange chill in the air, not unfriendly, but more like a shift in the direction of a cool breeze. He stood on edge, feeling oddly protective of the room and its inhabitants.

There.

A disruption. In the far corner of the room, he felt time shifting angrily, trying to close the hole that was steadily forming there. From what he could tell, it wasn't his own time, and Harry wasn't in the mood for anything to go wrong to day. At that moment, he almost closed it, but something stopped him.

_Actually, there's something quite important for you to do before you go back. _He remembered Fate telling him in that brief moment when he had dozed off. So he waited, ready nonetheless, to close the portal in an instant, but it was steadily reaching larger proportions.

The other people in the room suddenly seemed to realize it was there.

"What is it?" Ron asked.

Just then, a voice floated through, sounding strange and distant.

"I need help. Please help me."

Harry's eyes narrowed. Somehow, he knew that voice.

"I don't have the strength. I need your help or I'll loose."

"Who is it?" Hermione asked, taking a tentative step closer to the portal.

"Stay away from it!" Ron said, pulling her back. "It could be dangerous!" Hermione looked at him annoyed, and jerked away. "They need help!"

"It's me!"

"Who is it?" Remus repeated, leaning closer to the portal, fascinated.

Some kind of noise was coming from the background. It sounded like a child crying

"Did you hear that?" Ron asked, eyes narrowing.

"What is it?" Sirius asked.

"Where did it come from? Where does it go?" Hermione asked, her quest for knowledge getting the better of her. She took another step forward.

"I need your help! I can't do this without you and I don't have any time! Please help me!"

Hermione took another step closer and Ron stood protectively next to her, although not pulling her back this time. Remus stood up from his bed (still in full robes, Harry noticed sourly) and walked forward on slightly shaky legs that quickly regained their balance. "They need help," he pointed out.

"We have to go," Hermione said, taking another step forward.

"You're crazy!" Sirius said emphatically.

"Are you just going to stand there?" Hermione asked incredulously.

"I'm going in," Remus said suddenly. Everyone looked at him, but his eyes were fixed on the portal.

Just then, Hermione moved. Faster than anyone could react, she had leapt at the portal.

"Stop!" Ron yelled, making to grab her. He missed.

Ron and Sirius both leapt after her at the same time, bumping into each other as they jumped through.

"Harry?" asked a voice on the other side of the portal.

"Where are we?" Ron's voice asked on the other side as Sirius's voice asked, "What's going on?"

"Who are these people?" Hermione's voice asked, sounding as though she were talking to someone she knew.

"Is that Harry?" Sirius's voice asked incredulously.

"There's a little girl here!" Hermione cried.

"Is that Harry?" asked Sirius's voice again.

Remus seemed to have made up his mind to go through. He looked back at Harry as though surprised to see him still in the room. "Here I go," he said, shrugging. With that, he leapt through.

With the room emptied, Harry cautiously approached the portal. Voices were coming out of it, confused voices that were rather muddled, but Harry caught the general gist.

Did he feel slightly guilty about letting the others go through while he hung back and assessed the situation?

A little.

It appeared to be sometime in the future. It couldn't possibly be in the past. He knew everything about his own and the Potter boy's past and he had no memory of anything like this. There was a person there that seemed to know the kid, but none of the others. That was odd. Maybe--

A voice floated through the portal and the hair on the back of Harry's neck stood on end.

Voldemort.

What was going on? Voldemort was dead. Completely and thoroughly dead. He knew this for a _fact._

A date was mentioned. 3003? Bloody hell. And he thought he did a lot of time traveling. But why would Harry be in such an outrageous year? More importantly, why would Voldemort?

Hermione's voice floated through clearly, asking he very question he was wondering.

"Why don't you just die when you're supposed to?"

"My dear Granger," Voldemort's voice said, amused. "I do."

The next part of the conversation informed Harry that the Harry through the portal was, for some reason, sixteen. What was going on?

The next moment it was hard to hear anything. He recognized the sound well. Fighting. Apparently the kid really did need help. How many times was he to pull him out of difficult situations?

_Actually, there's something quite important for you to do before you go back. _

Harry sighed.

"Here we go again," he muttered, and leapt through the portal.

'''''''''''''

A/N: Again, if you don't understand, read 3003. The end. I promised I'd finish this and I did. At the moment I'm not working on anything new. In fact, although I started a 3003 sequel, I realized that my writing in 3003 was so terrible in itself that if I didn't correct the problem, I could never show my face for as long as I live. So, I'm hoping I can finish it and I really have been working on it, but if I can't, that's it! Thank you everyone for reviewing me and sticking with me through my time of disappearance and reappearance. Newer reviewers, sorry to come and go so fast!

Signing off,

--Gilthas


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